Hex Hollow
by Swan's Catastrophe
Summary: Cali is a witch with a problem. Demons are threatening the existence of her coven. Her mother is riding her about school. And she's caught the attention of an all powerful vampire. So more than one problem. What's a witch to do?
1. Chapter 1

**New Story. Rated for language and content. Sorry if the first few chapters are a tad boring.**

I frowned at the news woman on the television. They were showing a picture of another young girl whose body was found in an alley near her apartment.

That's the third this week, I thought sadly.

I tugged lightly at the black, snake choker around my neck. The cold metal was pulsing against my skin irritatedly.

Things had gotten out of hand lately.

And of course, my mom had warned me; after we felt that huge surge in Power the other week, my mom could tell something was going on. At first it hadn't bothered me so much, as a witch, I could always use more Power. But then the others came…

With New York City being on a cross of ley lines, it was always swarming with other supernaturals, but after the Power surge that ran through them last week, it was bringing in undesirables; hoping to cash in on the jump.

With more supernaturals, came fights, usually lethal, and humans were always caught in the middle- such as the girl on the television screen.

"Another one, huh, Cal?" Adele Adler said as she walked into the kitchen. I glanced at my mother and nodded, tugging on my choker again. In response, the snake's eyes glowed red and it opened its mouth, swallowing more of its tail and making itself tighter around my throat. I glared furiously at the Ouroboros and flicked the snake on its nose, watching smugly as the serpent reluctantly obeyed and loosened its grip around my throat.

"He gets more difficult to control everyday" I muttered. My mom smiled knowingly, petting the gold Ouroboros that rested at the base of her own neck.

"It takes time. You'll get used to it" She assured me. "Now go get ready for school, or you'll be late"

Adele flicked her red curls from her face, picked up a vial of liquefied sage from the cabinet and left me in the kitchen. I turned back to the television, eating my cereal and watching the news intently. Completely enthralled.

While I was distracted, a large green snake slowly slithered into the kitchen, wrapping itself around my feet. I glanced down at the poisonous green mamba and smirked.

"Grandma!" I called.

A few moments later a small old woman entered the kitchen with a look of confusion. When she saw me, the old woman's face lit up.

"Oh, Callista, dear, there you are. Have you seen my-"

"Right here" I said glancing pointedly at my feet. My grandmother looked at the green snake and smiled fondly.

"Well there you are, Lily dear" My grandmother said to the snake reproachfully "C'mon sweet heart, back to mama"

Grandmother crouched down, offering the snake her hand, and waited until the green snake quickly slithered up her arm and wrapped itself around her throat; turning into a bright green, metallic, Ouroboros. _That's the problem with these damn things_, I thought. _They never want to stay around your throat. One of these days, I'm going to be arrested for smuggling a black mamba into the school._

As if urged on by my thought, both mine and my grandmother's Ouroboros's peaked up at us before slithering down our arms and onto the floor. A few seconds later, a giant yellow, cape cobra slithered into the kitchen. Quickly followed by my mother, looking peeved.

"George, you get back here right now!" Mom scolded the yellow cobra. She glanced around at the two other snakes on the floor beside her own and frowned.

"What is going on with you today?" She gasped breathlessly.

I sighed leaning against the counter. I would leave this mystery for my mom to figure out. In the mean time, I had to get to school. My light eyes snapped down to the black mamba slithering anxiously around the kitchen.

"Crispin" I snapped at the snake "Come here this instant. And do not leave my throat again until I give you permission"

The snake was back in its Ouroboros form within a matter of seconds and I left the kitchen, with my mom frowning at the two remaining snakes in deep concern.

I faintly wondered if the trouble here in the human realm was as bad on the Other Side. The Crowley's must have felt the surge in the ley lines from over there.

I brushed through my reddish gold, titian hair with a frown. As a witch, descended from the Celtic region, it was pretty much set in stone that I would be pale, covered in freckles and have red curly hair.

I had the strawberry red hair, but unlike my mother, my hair was long and wavy, reaching just above my breasts. Unfortunately, there was just no getting away from the pale skin and freckles. Even with all that, I was still pretty. Small and slender, with bright blue eyes framed by thick lashes and topped off with a sweet smile, and high cheekbones. Interestingly enough, I wasn't sweet. I was born into a pretty powerful witch family. One of the first. And also born into a family of women who were known for their quick temper.

That's why most of the Familiars in the Adler family are Ouroboros snakes. And poisonous ones at that. I was the first to have a black mamba. Having a snake _that_ temperamental and deadly isn't common. My grandmother, Nora, has a green mamba but those are far less confrontational than the black mamba. Either way, we were powerful witches and part of the founding families of the Other Side.

The Adler's, Blackwood's, Sanders', and Crowley's all took part in ruling over Hex Hollow. The part of the Other Side that belonged solely to the witches and their covens. For six months out of the year a family would take their place ruling over the other covens. Right now, the Crowley's were in the Other Side finishing up their term. Next, it would be me and my family. Kind of like royal families, switching up their reign of power. And the Other Side was waiting for my mother and grandmother to take over.

I sighed shakily at the thought, my memories of the Other Side had never been fond or pleasant, and put on some dark wash skinny jeans, red high tops converse, and a black shirt with 'you read my shirt, that's enough social interaction for one day' sketched in white across the chest.

After, I grabbed my backpack, fluffed up my hair a little, and then stomped downstairs to my mom.

Adele was in the living room, working on a spell of some kind, when I walked in. She glanced up at me and smirked, eyes back on the spell she was writing.

"Nice shirt" Adele muttered. I smiled, tapping Crispin on the head again as he began pulsing.

"So do you know what's up with our dang snakes?" I asked curiously. My mother shook her head.

"Nope. Apparently, the Blackwood's and Sanders have been having problems with their Familiars as well. Cindy Blackwood will be here in a few minutes, we've been working on a spell to see what's going on. I figured you could walk to school with Josephine" Mom replied.

I nodded. Josephine Blackwood had been my best friend since babyhood. The Blackwood's were known for their odd obsession with birds as much as the Adler's were for their obsession with snakes, and the Sanders obsession with cats. To the humans we were loons, to the other supernaturals, we were a force to be reckoned with. Nobody messed with us witches. Not even the Death Walkers, who were known to be a little more than confrontational. Those ones, were always looking for a fight. They were even involved with this whole big thing on the Other Side a few months back. No one knows exactly what happened, but a lot of supernaturals died. Yeah, they were known as loons both on the Other Side and on the human realm.

I looked up as loud, shouting voices sounded off from our foyer. I raised in eyebrow and only barely managed to duck as a large black-winged bird swooped past me.

"Rupert" Josephine's voice followed the bird "Now that was rude. Come here"

The beautiful black barn owl perched itself on our fireplace and stared indifferently back at Josephine. Her fair skin flushed a brilliant red and she stamped her foot down on the ground. "Now! Rupert."

Very grudgingly, the owl swept up around Josephine, facing away from her with talons outstretched and wings wrapping around her neck. Slowly the owl shrunk and took on a metallic sheen before it became a bronze chocker around Josephine's throat with bright emerald eyes.

Josephine flicked her own bronze hair from her face and smiled at me.

"Hey Cali" She greeted. I grinned at her.

"You ready?" I asked. She nodded and tapped her backpack as she nodded towards the door.

"I told Twix we'd meet her outside the school" Josephine said as we walked down the crowded streets. Mostly we were ignored, but there would be times that Josephine and I would get looks of disgust or admiration. Mostly the looks of admiration were towards Josephine, who had that natural, classic looking beauty. I was too innocent and pouty looking for any of that.

After walking for a few blocks we made it to the gates of our private preparatory school.

Leaning against one of the pristine, white-marble pillars, was Twix.

All slender legs and arms, with tanned skin, chocolate brown eyes and short brown hair highlighted with blue and spiked in all directions. She looked like a pixie. A very tall pixie.

She raised her eyes to us and smirked, casually throwing her arm over Josephine's and my shoulder so that she was walking between us.

"Hello, my pretties" She cooed "Tell me, have your little critters been acting up? I can't seem to get Gwen to behave"

Twix glanced down at the black cat buttoned to the purple ribbon around her neck and shrugged off her own question.

"Most have been the Power surge" she supplemented.

"I'm not so sure" said Josephine, with a small scowl on her face. "My mom has been trying to reach the Crowley's for a little over a week now. She lost contact after the Power surge. There's talk amongst the covens here that something is happening on the Other Side"

Twix and I rolled our eyes, unimpressed.

"Since when has there _not_ been something going on over there. It's always something." I muttered under my breath as we walked through the halls.

"Exactly" Twix replied, before Josephine could answer. "Besides that's not important. What _is_ important is the rave that's going on tonight in the warehouse district. It's being thrown by a Warlock and you know how great their parties are. So be there" Twix said before petting her ribbon softly and walking away as the bell rang. Well, a party couldn't hurt.

"Oh, no, no, no, no" Twix said as I pulled out some jeans and a t-shirt. She glared at me and snatched the clothes from my hand.

"This is a party damnit. So dress like it"

She replaced the jeans and tee with a slinky, deep violet, material. I unfolded it to see that it was a dress. Very short, and very tight.

I sighed, slumping my shoulders, and cast wide-eyes towards Twix.

"Don't give me that look. Go put it on!" Twix demanded. I glared at her and stomped towards my bathroom. The dress fit like a second skin, and surprisingly, made me look like I had curves. I topped it off with a pair of my platform combat boots with all the buckles and some black eyeliner with rosy lip-gloss.

Twix proceeded to rough up my hair a bit, giving it that purposefully messy look and turned back to Josephine.

Josephine looked fabulous of course. With her hazel brown wavy hair and pale skin and long legs. She was rocking a black dress similar to mine with six inch stiletto heels.

Twix was…well she was Twix.

Her outfit consisted of a short jean jacket, a red bikini top and some skin tight daisy duke shorts with knee high stiletto boots. She had also put in golden, cat eye contacts and applied blood red lipstick.

Needless to say, she was the life of the party.

Josephine and I kind of stuck to a back corner whispering to each other. Until of course, _he_ came.

_He _would be Mr. Blaine Pierce.

Teenage vampire, and closest thing to god, ever. He was turned, around eight hundred years ago. And is one of the most powerful vampires in existence, if I were completely honest; one of the most powerful supernaturals in existence. And I'm sure, his being completely freaking gorgeous had something to do with it.

He was tall, pale, and every artists dream. From the angles of his face, to the sharp rigidness of his hair, and the softness of his eyes…

He had black hair, cut in sharp angles around his face, and the most amazing eyes I had ever seen. It was like looking at a whole galaxy of different colored stars in his eyes. Around the edges his eyes were a teal color, that changed into a Tiffany blue the nearer it got to the pupil. Then, wrapped right around the pupil his eyes were neon green. The colors were solid, yet at the same time seemed to float around his iris like billowing smoke. In short, they were dreamy as hell. And they were locked on me. I frowned as he stepped towards me through the crowd. What did a vampire, a very powerful vampire, want with me?

Well, it looked like I was about to find out, since he was now standing inches away.

"Callista Adler?" He asked in a silky voice.

A felt my heart skip and pick up quickly as Crispin thrummed anxiously against my throat.

Uh, oh.

"Yeah?" I gulped, looking at Josephine unsurely. She was staring intently at Blaine in that calm, serene way that always freaked people out. He didn't seem to notice.

"I was just wondering what you Adler's were doing here" Blaine said smoothly "Whose ruling over the other covens right now?"

I raised my eyebrows at him incredulously. If he knew enough about witches to know that my family was next in reign, he should know that the Crowley's were ruling right now.

I felt my mental walls go up as I vaguely felt Blaine probing in my mind.

"True, but the Crowley's aren't ruling right now" He sighed.

It's rude to read people's thoughts without permission, I thought snidely.

Blaine's lips twitched but he said nothing.

"Of course they are" Josephine said, before I could get a hold of myself "Their term isn't over yet"

"I know." said Blaine "But I didn't say they left willingly. They simply stepped down, without so much as an explanation"

"That's impossible" I scoffed

Blaine shrugged- somehow managing to make the nonchalant gesture graceful.

"Just thought you should know" He said before disappearing into the crowd again.

Josephine and I shared a look and then set out to find Twix.

If he was telling the truth, it could mean trouble.

Crispin pulsed against my throat again in response to that thought. Well I thought that it was in response to my thought. But then, the room exploded into a cloud of smoke, and creatures were skittering and scuttling about the floors and ceilings. Demons.

Well this night just keeps getting better and better.


	2. Chapter 2

**Here's the second chap. Review and tell me your thoughts!**

* * *

"You've got to be kidding me" I growled as I none-too-gently tugged Crispin from my neck and tossed him on the floor, watching as he swiftly slithered around the feet of panicking party goers and found his targets. I glanced up and smirked at the barn owl circling the perimeter, before checking my boots and whipping out a deep black amulet and furiously hissing words to it.

Before I could finish my spell, cold hands wrapped around my arms and started ushering me to the door.

"C'mon" said a familiar silky voice "It's about to get crazy in here"

I glanced around the room as Blaine ushered me out.

_About_ to get crazy? Had he not noticed the hundred something people running around in a frenzied panic as demons scuttled about?

I noticed that most of the demons were the creature demons. The ones that looked like monsters that you would find under your bed. Gray, and scuttling along the walls and ceilings like lizards or insects. Not many of them were in human form.

I heard Blaine's soft chuckle as he pushed me through the front door and the cold night air hit me like a blast in the face. It was a little late in spring for it to be this cold.

"My apologies. As a vampire, you don't really pay much attention to things like the temperature" Blaine sighed, staring at my goose-bumps. To my shock, the temperature rose a good five degrees and Blaine raised his eyebrows questioningly.

"Better?" He asked. I gulped and nodded.

"Is there anything you _can't_ do?" I asked curiously. Blaine smiled.

"No. Not much"

I snickered and looked back at the large warehouse.

"My friends are in there…" I said softly, preparing to go back inside.

"No they aren't" Blaine replied coolly "They used a transporting spell to leave"

I raised my eyebrows but said nothing, more focused on the long, slithering figure making its way towards us.

I crouched down, offering my arm to the snake and softly pet his head.

"You've been a good boy, haven't you" I cooed at the snake. In response, the snake's tongue slipped out and flicked quickly up and down. I smiled and kissed the snake on the head, as Blaine looked on in renewed interest. I pet Crispin one last time and then let him slither back around my throat.

"I guess I'll see you on the Other Side?" Blaine presumed.

I looked between him and the dark alley that led to home with in unsure feeling. It was that annoying feeling of forewarning.

I didn't get premonitions. I got instincts and intuition. And right now, both were screaming _don't go home alone. Something's going to grab you and pull you into the dark._

I shivered as I stared into the darkness of the alley.

"Ride home it is then" Blaine sighed, taking me by the arm. I opened my mouth to protest but Blaine raised a dismissive hand.

"I don't mind. It's not everyday that I get to take an Adler witch for a ride" Blaine said cheerily.

I smirked as he helped me into his car. I didn't know much about vehicles but it looked nice, and expensive.

"So what _can_ you do?" I asked as we drove along, reforming my earlier question. Blaine gave me a sideways glance and his lips twitched.

"Other than the superhuman agility, speed, balance, and tracking abilities, you mean?" He replied teasingly. I rolled my eyes and nodded dumbly. Blaine's eyes went sky-ward in thought.

"Well, there's the hypnotism or influencing. That comes in handy when you want to be invited in somewhere. Lets see…flying, manipulation of the weather- as you witnessed earlier- I can use my shadow to do things for me, much like you have your familiar do things for you. I can change into the form of an animal. Then there's the empathy, telekinesis, telepathy, and pyrokinesis- all of which I rarely use. It takes up too much energy. And then I can also go into the dreams of humans and manipulate them" Blaine shrugged.

I stared at him wide-eyed. "That is scary as hell" I whispered.

Blaine flashed me a pearly white smile as he pulled to a stop outside of my apartment building.

"Wait till you see it in action" He said with a grin, teal eyes flashing silver.

I shivered slightly and numbly thanked him for the ride as I stepped outside.

What an odd vampire…

"I look forward to seeing you again Callista Adler" Blaine called as I walked towards the doorman. I glanced at the ground, smirking to myself and retreated to my mom's penthouse estate.

"Thank god, you're all right" Josephine sighed, as I walked into the living room. Twix lounged against the wall in the far corner and the sofas were crowded with familiar faces.

My mother and grandmother sat beside each other and across from Cindy Blackwood and her sister Elodie. Beside the Blackwood's were the Saunders' Molly and Felicity. Felicity was the mother of Twix- to Twix's great dismay.

It looked like I had walked in on a very important meeting.

"C'mon and sit, dear" My grandmother beckoned, patting a spot beside her. I hurried to her side and stared from face to face.

"What's going on?" I asked cautiously. My mom sighed beside me.

"It appears we're going to be stepping in as leaders of the coven a bit early. The Other Side is no longer a safe place for our kind- and precautions must be taken. So for that reason, all of the ruling witch families are moving into the manor." My mother explained. My expression was one of horror.

"For how long?" I gasped.

My mom frowned "As long as need be"

I felt like the room was spinning. As long as need be? What the hell was going on over there that required every ruling witch family's assistance?

I ran a hand through my hair and sighed. "Okay. When are we leaving?"

My grandmother looked up from petting her familiar Lily and smiled at me.

"Why, we're leaving tonight, dear" She replied in her lilting voice.

My head whipped around, all of the faces in the room were solemn- except for Twix's, she was grinning wildly at the blue sparks that she was producing in the palm of her hand. They reflected off her eyes eerily.

"Lovely" I groaned, leaning against the couch and staring at the ceiling. My mom ran her fingers through my hair and patted my cheek softly.

"It would have been later this week. But the Blackwood's have recently taken in a young orphan and wanted to make sure that we were settled before his arrival" My mom whispered. I nodded and stood up, suddenly feeling very tired and anxious.

"I'm going to go pack" I supplied, before walking out of the living room and towards my bedroom. Josephine and Twix quickly slinked after me.

As soon as I made it to my room, I collapsed face first onto my bed. Josephine laid beside me, face up, and Twix sat, swinging her legs over the side of my mattress.

"On the bright side" Twix sighed "We don't have a curfew on the Other Side"

I laughed mirthlessly against my covers before sitting up and flicking the hair from my face.

"True. Now help me pack" I muttered.

* * *

Ah, the Other Side. When some says "The Other Side" you usually picture the place that a being goes to after death. Which in a way was true- there was a lot of dead people here. Well, half dead. But the Other Side would probably be better described as the level in heaven that was like hell. We had pretty much everything. Fallen Angels, Vampires, Werewolves, Faeries, Warlocks, Sorcerer's, Nymphs, Kelpies, Demons, Death Walkers, you name it. Just no humans. The only humans allowed in were the slaves of vampires or demons and an occasional sorcerer. The houses were usually out in the country side while the town was the main place that transported people. The only place on the Other Side with a portal. So that's where we ended up.

I looked up at the dark sky with a mix of awe and fear, like I always did.

Directly above head was the moon that we saw from earth. Glowing brilliantly with it's sheen of light. A few degrees south was another moon, much larger and not as luminescent it gave off only a faint glow compared to the moon over-head. And directly parallel to the horizon was the third moon. Huge, and oppressive. It was as white and crystal clear as the first moon, but it was surrounded by a dark aura. A black aura that seemed to buzz like the never-ending night it lighted.

I glanced back down at the unpaved streets filled with walking creatures and old-fashioned carriages. The store shop windows were lighted with enchanted signs that listed the items sold at the store.

"Come along, Callista dear" My grandmother said, taking me by the arm and leading me to a carriage. One thing I was sure, once I got to the manor, I would feel better.

* * *

I stared out the window of the carriage as we approached the manor. My home away from home. The manor wasn't really a manor at all, but a castle. It was big enough that every witch who belonged to the ruling families had their own room and then there were about fifty extra ones. The castle itself was beautiful, and eerie. The kind of castle you would imagine witches lived in. Thick, vines traveled up the gray rock like dried veins on dead flesh. Usually, they were alive and green, making it easy for Twix and I to climb down from our windows on the third floor. If we tried now, they'd probably snap under our weight and we'd break our necks. Ah, well.

Standing in the front door were the Crowley's. I bitterly wondered why they were even here if they weren't going to be ruling. There was Rhiannon Crowley with her familiar- a marbled polecat, named Beatrice. And her daughter, the beautiful (and in my expert opinion-bitch from hell) Fiona and her wicked ferret Lucifer. I couldn't even count how many times that damned ferret started fights with Crispin. Beside them was a boy I didn't at all recognize. He looked like he was about my age- only a whole foot taller than me. His body was lean, and had the strong, lithe, and wiry muscles I always liked on guys. He had golden skin with what looked like naturally messy-and spiky light blonde hair that hung near his forehead- and grey eyes. All of his features were sharp and he looked about as unhappy to be there as I did.

"Is he-?" I started, Josephine cut me off.

"Human? No net technically. He's a werewolf. Just hasn't started the change yet"

"Really?" I gasped looking back at him as our carriage got closer "How old is he"

"A year older than we are- seventeen" Josephine sighed "But don't bother, he's a werewolf with a serious case of antisocial personality disorder. Kind of an asshole"

I relaxed against the seat and crossed my arms over my chest. Everything seemed fine.

We pulled up to the house and took our time getting out of the carriages. Crispin slid himself around the back of my neck so that his head was hanging over one shoulder and his tail was over the other. The Crowley's stepped aside, letting us in and Cindy Blackwood ushered the boy along in front of her. Once we were inside, she introduced him as Jack- the boy that they were taking in.

After all the introductions and 'how are you's' I hurried up to my bedroom- which I knew would be unchanged and waiting. Crispin slithered along the floor beside me, easily keeping up with my near jogging through the hallways. After two levels of stairs, I was finally on the third floor. I walked down the long hallway until I came to the door with my name on it. I opened the cherry wood door and sighed happily at the sight of my bedroom. It was enormous- and looked like crayons had exploded onto every inch of the room. The doors were purple with gold encrusted along the molding. The walls were hot pink with gold stripes and black, marble accents. The carpet was a brilliant, bright pattern of purple, pink, gold, and black. There were two large comfy purple suede chairs in the far corner beside my sketching desk. A few feet away from the desk, up against the wall, was a bookcase that held my grimoire, sketchbooks, spell books, and regular reading books. My bed was in the center on a large, purple, circular platform held up by small, black marble pillars. The covers were bright pink and gold and had a large canopy that could wrap around the entire thing. There was a chair beside the bed, and a leopard/ pink ataman a few feet away from the bed. To the right of the bed was the bathroom done in the same color scheme but only with gold and black.

_This _had always been my escape. It was so bright and colorful- like my own little world.

There was a tapping at my window, and I scowled before walking across the room and throwing it open.

Floating a few feet away was Blaine. He smiled widely at me. I looked him over. He had on jeans, a clean white t-shirt and a leather jacket.

"Are you going to invite me in?" He asked. I smiled.

"Last I checked. I'm not a human- and this isn't the human realm. You don't need to be invited in" I replied.

Blaine shrugged and glided to sit on my window sill.

"It's the premise that counts" He explained "I like to be polite. Just because I _can_ enter without being invited- I won't. It's inconsiderate"

"Oh, but hovering three stories above ground and tapping on someone's window so that they'll invite you in- isn't inconsiderate at all" I laughed. Blaine looked up, wrinkling his nose.

"Didn't think of it that way" He muttered.

I snickered and gestured towards my room.

'C'mon in" I sighed. He smiled brilliantly and hopped from my window sill into my room, pausing to look around.

"Wow." he scoffed "I don't think I've seen this much pink in all my eight-hundred and something years"

I bit my lip "You really don't know how old you are?" I asked. Blaine shrugged.

"Age doesn't really matter so much to someone who never has to worry about getting old and dying" He replied stoically.

I lounged in one of my suede chairs and tossed my head back to stare at the ceiling. Blaine averted his eyes quickly and turned away.

I smirked at him and sat straight "What?" I asked, feeling my hair brush over my shoulders.

He smirked back and I could see the hint of fangs behind his lips.

"You're very brave to expose your throat like that with a vampire in the room" He commented.

I raised an eyebrow. "And you're very stupid if you think that there's anyway you would be able to touch my throat." I replied.

He flicked amused eyes to me and tossed a small black ball in his hands. "Oh?" he challenged.

I nodded.

"I'm pretty sure Crispin would get a nice piece of your throat though" I added nonchalantly.

Blain narrowed his eyes. "Snake venom has no effect on vampires"

"Normal snake venom has no effect on vampires" I admonished "But Crispin isn't a normal snake- a bite from him could have several effects on you. None of which would be pleasant"

Blaine tsked lightly, his eyes flashing silver "Brave little witch. You're sort of scary"

I used a glamour to make it look like my eyes were flashing silver and my canines elongated into fangs.

"Wait till you see me in action" I replied, mockingly.


	3. Chapter 3

Abruptly, Blaine was in front of me smiling like a wild man, his eyes dancing with amusement.

"That's a cute trick" He said brusquely. I smiled shyly, raising my chin a fraction of an inch.

"I thought so" I replied.

My door opened and Twix strode in on her long, feline-like legs. She paused momentarily to look Blaine up and down slowly and then lounged on my bed. As I observed her I noticed that all of Twix's movements were lithe and graceful; cat-like.

"I guess I'll see you around" Blaine said, smirking at me. He winked and then disappeared through the window. I was pretty sure I saw him morph into a falcon when he jumped.

"So…" Twix started, studying me with critical eyes "what's going on between you and the vampire?"

I felt myself flush deep red and stuttered out an excuse.

"Nothing" I said finally.

Twix's eyes narrowed ever so slightly and the corner of her mouth quirked up into that small smile that said: _I'm on to you Callista Adler._

Aloud, Twix said "Dinner's ready. And yes you have to go- your mom's insisting. Something about letting us in on what's going on"

I followed Twix down the stairs and into our giant dining room, with one of those huge tables that seats twenty on either side. A bit ridiculous, but necessary for when we throw our coming home ball every time my mother or anyone else takes reign. I won't get to throw a ball until I turn eighteen, and am actually able to make decisions about the coven with the rest of my family. Stupid rules…

The rest of the dinner was my mother explaining that there have been sightings of the creature demons all over the Other Side- and they seem to be causing trouble for Hex Hollow.

I could see why, seeing as Hex Hollow is pretty out in the boonies- even for the Other Side. We're completely secluded.

The Old Wood forest is off to one side, and then to the other is Lake Dread. I don't even want to get into how many horrible things are swimming within the murky waters of that lake. So basically, if anyone wanted to attack us- we'd be the perfect targets because we have nowhere to run. Only idiots would take their chances in the Old Wood.

It was still a sad feeling though, that someone could take away so easily what my family took empires to build. And apparently, my mom wasn't giving up without a fight- she was going to make some wards- the most powerful ones, designed to keep demons away. They seemed to be inhabiting the Old Wood now. Great.

"Don't forget to practice those spells before you go to bed! I'll be checking to make sure you know them tomorrow" My mom called as I walked towards my room.

I closed my eyes, gritting my teeth. Damnit, I forgot all about those stupid spells. Turning the corner, I collided into Fiona. She glared at me, looking like she was contemplating violence, but then just said:

"Watch where you're going, freak" and shoved me into the wall.

Since when did I become the freak? If we're all witches I'd be one of many freaks- Fiona included.

I shook it off and continued my long trek towards my bedroom. Hopefully, one of those spells that I have to learn is a teleporting spell- it would make getting to my bedroom a hell of a lot easier.

After looking through my grimoire for a whole hour and a half (because that would probably satisfy my mom) I closed the book of magic and stumbled over to my bed. This day had been exhausting. I felt a small urge coarse through me and I walked up to my window, opening it. After looking out into the darkness of the forest beyond, I stepped out and tugged roughly on one of the vines against the house. It didn't give.

Slowly, I began pulling myself from the window and towards the roof of the Manor. Once, I was up and out, I trekked across the roof up onto the highest tower- and sat down.

I was staring directly into the face of the largest moon. The one with the black aura.

"It's not safe out here" said a brusque voice behind me. I jumped and whirled around.

It was Jack, the orphan werewolf.

"What are you doing out here then?" I asked

He scuffed his shoe against the roof and shrugged, staring up at the moon high overhead.

"I like it" He said.

I turned back to the black moon and began biting my fingernails. Jack sighed and walked towards the edge of the roof. I was about to warn him to be careful, but he just looked back at me and said in the same brusque voice:

"Don't stay out too long"

And then he jumped!

Well, he didn't really jump- it was more like, he walked off the roof; but it still had the same effect.

I leapt to my feet and rushed over to the edge only to see him landing gracefully on the ground and walking through the front door.

That wasn't normal. Werewolves who haven't started the change can't _do_ that.

I scowled at the grass below, as a falcon perched itself on one of the tiers beside me.

"Three times in one night- I'm getting good" said Blaine from the castle tier- the bird was gone. I turned to him with suspiciously raised eyebrows.

"Why are you tracking me?" I asked, sitting back down, and swinging my legs over the edge of the roof.

"Tracking you would consist of me scouting you out through scent, sight, or hearing. I think it's different if I simply know where you live and like to make my presence known" Blaine replied caustically. I snickered, but kept my intent stare directed at him.

"So what do you want?" I asked, suspicious.

A vampire doesn't just follow people around for no good reason.

"Actually" Blaine chimed "Vampires follow people around for no good reason all the time- living forever gets boring. We like to spice it up by seeing how other people live and then laughing at them"

The corner of my mouth twitched "Is that what you're doing to me?"

Blaine looked puzzled "You? No. I just want to show you something. Come here"

He stood as he spoke and so did I, walking towards him.

"What?" I demanded. He closed the distance between us rather quickly and brought his eyes down to level with mine. Unable to look away, I stared at the color swirling around in his irises feeling like I was being sucked into another universe. After an eternity of what seemed like simply staring at each other- Blaine flicked his gaze away from me and smiled wickedly.

I looked around and felt my jaw go slack. We weren't on the roof of The Manor anymore, we were in the Old Wood.

I didn't know for sure where we were, but my intuition told me it was the Old Wood.

"What are we doing here?" I asked shivering involuntarily as my eyes scanned the dark forest.

The Old Wood was like the Grim Forest only worse. There were…_things _in here. I could hear them running through the trees, watching us.

"Don't worry, you're safe" Blaine assured "Trust me?"

I nodded, surprised to find that I actually did trust this vampire that I had only known for a few hours. Blaine took my hand in his and began leading me through the forest, gracefully maneuvering me away from the creepers and tree branches that reached out to grab me.

"It's this way" He said softly, as we set out on whatever search we were on.

* * *

After walking for only a few minutes, we made it to the center of the forest. The trees were playing mind games on us- making us think that we had traveled farther than we actually were.

Blaine tugged me along, and I numbly followed; glancing warily at the menacing trees and creepers that trailed along the forest floor.

I hadn't noticed that Blaine had stopped until I stumbled into his back. He flashed me an amused expression before pointedly staring out in front of him.

"Don't worry" He consoled "They can't see us"

I slowly peaked around Blaine to look at whatever he had come to show me, once I had- I wished I hadn't.

There, in a small clearing of the forest was Fiona. And she wasn't alone.

There was a boy with her, and they were locked in a passionate embrace- but it was obvious that something wasn't right almost immediately.

This man, had black hair that was cropped short and spiky, his eyes were a deep, liquid gold, and he had the teeth of a shark…or a piranha. The teeth of a demon.

And right now, they were raking over Fiona's throat, drawing blood, which he sucked greedily into his mouth. Fiona's eyes opened and I took a step back with a start.

Those were not Fiona's icy blue eyes. Those eyes, were demonic- evil.

I stared at the aura around the witch and felt like I might faint. It was a dark, murky brown with white lightning shooting through it. Her aura was worse than anything I had seen; nothing like her usual glowing, ice-white aura. And what was worse, were the creatures around the couple.

Featureless, creature demons with contorted bodies were watching from above, hovering in the trees. There were hundreds of them, and I couldn't help the icy shiver that spread over my spine.

I tugged on Blaine's jacket sleeve "Take me home. Take me home, now"

Blaine turned to me with a sigh, and slipped out of his jacket, handing it over to me. I graciously took it and put it on.

"Alright lets go" Blaine said, and in a movement too fast for my eyes to follow he took me by the arm and whipped me around so that I was clutching his neck piggy-back style.

"Hang tight' He warned.

I snuggled into his shoulder, expecting him to take off at a speedy run. The vampire completely surprised me when he jumped up and kept going until we brushed past the tree tops.

I let out a small screech, and Blaine smiled.

He hovered above the forest for a few seconds before zooming over the forest and Hex Hollow as we neared The Manor.

* * *

Within sixty seconds, I was back in my bedroom feeling more than a little sick to my stomach, and Blaine was sitting comfortably in one of my purple suede chairs.

He raised his one of a kind eyes to me, and they were filled with curiosity.

"So what are you going to do?' He asked. I paced along in front of him, nervously tapping my Ouroboros choker.

_I don't know! _I screamed in mentally.

'_Well you're going to have to do something'_ Blaine's caustic voice sounded in my head.

_Help!_ I demanded, in my most vulnerable mental voice. _what was she doing with that demon? Why was her aura like that? What is it all supposed to mean to me?_

"It _means_ that you witches have a problem" Blaine said aloud. "Because, apparently, there's a demon powerful enough to overpower a witches will and posses her. And this same demon has an army of creature demons along with an irrational grudge towards your kind"

"You mean Fiona wasn't willing going into this?" I asked. Blaine gave me an irritated look.

"Seriously, that was _all_ you got out of what I just said?" He replied, disbelievingly.

When I only stared at him expectantly, Blaine sighed.

"She was…somewhat willing, I suppose. But she went into this with an agenda of her own. The demon made her a deal, and she agreed to get him what he needed in return for his help."

"What was the deal?" I asked, unsure if I really wanted to hear the answer. Instincts were telling me that it needed to be heard, so that I could do something to stop whatever Fiona was planning, but intuition was telling me that this was bad. That I would wish I hadn't heard it because I may not be able to do anything to stop it.

Blaine sighed "Fiona went to the demon because she wanted to get rid of the competition. She's turning eighteen soon, and it will be her turn to take reign- but she doesn't seem like the type to share. And she's not. She wanted to get rid of the most revered of the ruling witch families- but the Adler family in particular. The demon promised her he would get rid of all of the witches in line for the ruling in return for Fiona convincing her mother to leave her term early, and for Fiona becoming a carrier of one of his lower level demons"

Again, the first half of what he said went in one ear and out the other.

"Why would she let one of those things _inside of her_. It doesn't make any sense"

"Oh, yes it does." Blaine argued "Those things can multiply rather quickly. The plan was to get each of you possessed by one so that not only would you be helpless, but also under the demon's control."

My eyes shot-wide and I quickly became panicked.

"I bumped into her earlier- do I have one inside of me? Can you see?"

A small smile tugged at the corners of Blaine's lips. "Yes, I can see. And no- you don't. Just steer clear of her and have your witch friends ingest a lot of iron."

I nodded, shivering at the thought of Fiona.

How could she do this? How could she betray everyone for the sake of power? I knew she hated me but she was willing to take it this far? Even though we hadn't had any contact for over a year and a half?

_That's the part that I got confused on, _Blaine admitted. I only just realized that I had been projecting my thoughts when I heard his smooth voice in my head.

_She started all of this, earlier this year. Out of curiosity, I watched her. I found her hatred towards you in particular completely irrational- so I thought I should meet you for myself to see what all the fuss was about. It's easier to see now, why she hates you so much._

I gaped at him, my expression turning to one of hurt before I could help it.

_You have this…__**thing**__- that draws people towards you. That makes them want to be in your presence, and you're completely oblivious. It's like you don't even notice the lustful looks from boys or the affectionate glances between your friends that would gladly trade their life for yours. You don't seem to realize how this could look to Fiona. She thinks that you are some superficial girl with the loving family, and the fiercely protective friends who doesn't even acknowledge what she has. When really, you are just completely naïve. You don't see that people like Fiona are jealous because you have what she wants- and you waste it._

Now my look turned indignant. "I do not." I stated "And I have never once received a lustful look in my life- those are for Josephine and Twix. I don't know if you've noticed- but I look like a thirteen year old"

"You look like a maiden"

My mouth bobbed open and closed like a fish, but I found myself unable to say anything, so I just stared at the vampire across from me.

A deep frown settled over my face and I glared at Blaine. My silky hair brushed over my face and I imagined it to be Blaine's fingers, trailing lightly over my jaw.

_Stop it!_ I commanded vehemently. Sneaky, perverted vampire- trying to influence me?

Blaine smirked and I narrowed my eyes.

"Get out" I said icily. "I'm tired"

Blaine and I had a brief stare down before he hopped up from the purple chair and bowed gentlemanly towards me.

"I will see you soon, Callista Adler" He said silkily, his words caressing my neck like silk.

"It's Cali" I corrected as he strutted to my window.

Blaine tossed me a wild look and smiled. "Sleep well, Cali"

I nodded and collapsed onto my bed once the vampire was gone.

I had only just gotten here, and I already had an issue on my hands.

This year was going to be _great_. I could already tell.

I turned over in bed and fell asleep with bitter thoughts swirling around in my head.

* * *

_**Don't forget to review!**_


	4. Chapter 4

"Cali! Oooh Cali!" I groaned at the sound of Twix's voice from beside me. "You have some serious explaining to do, missy"

I pulled the pillow up over my ears, and then just decided to toss it at Twix's face. She dodged it easily and flicked her dark eyes towards me in annoyance.

"What are you doing with that vampire's jacket on?" Twix asked conversationally. I frowned and looked down to see that I was still wearing Blaine's jacket. Last night's events whirled around in my head, and I snapped to reality.

"Go get Josephine, quick. We need to talk" I said in the voice that invoked the hyena pack sisterhood (A small pact that we all made to tell each other everything when we were little. It also refers to us taking down enemies as a team- and using common gestures such as a lifted eyebrow, or slight frown to communicate something vital).

Fore example, Twix's lifted eyebrow and slight frown says: _Why what's going on? Did he do something to you?_

In return, I shake my head softly and gesture towards the door: _No, you idiot. Now go get Josephine so we can talk._

A few seconds later, Twix came back with a worried looking Josephine towing along behind her, once they were sitting down I described with meticulous detail everything that had happened last night. By the time I was done, both Twix and Josephine were frowning in deep thought.

"I knew she was acting weird" Twix muttered under her breath, referring to Fiona.

"What about Jack?" Josephine asked "Shouldn't my mom be told that he can do werewolf things without being a full werewolf yet?"

Twix and I both shook our heads dismissively.

"Not our biggest problem"

"It's not like we study werewolves, maybe they _can_ do that sort of stuff and we don't know about it"

Josephine sighed "Okay, whatever. So what are we going to do?"

"Nothing yet" I said as I gnawed on my lower lip "For now, lets just keep our eyes out for anything suspicious. We can't tell our mom's until we have proof, so for now just watch Fiona like a hawk"

Twix and Josephine nodded solemnly.

"Alright, we better go downstairs for breakfast" Josephine said softly.

"That reminds me. Eat a lot of iron in your diet. It'll help ward off the possessor demons" I said.

The girls sighed and rose from my bed, before leading the way downstairs.

Breakfast was for sure, weird.

Fiona kept trying to make conversation with Josephine and I. She tried to talk to Twix, but…a simple snarl from the leggy witch shut Fiona right up.

I was starting to go crazy with paranoia. Can Fiona transfer the demons through speaking with another person? Is that why she's talking to us suddenly? And where the hell is that damn ferret of hers? I'd bet he's doing some of her dirty work…

It was giving me a serious headache.

And then, my mom announced that the Adler Summer Solstice Gala would be next week.

It's not the end of the world, but it **_is _**a taxing detail. On top of trying to _not_ get possessed and watching Fiona, I also had to find a date to one of the biggest parties of the year.

Ehh.

* * *

The week had passed by in a blur of inconspicuous whispers and scheming. Now, I was hours away from the Gala.

Twix, being Twix, had found a date the day my mom announced that she was going through with the preparations for the Ball. And Josephine, got stuck going with Jack- leaving me, with no one.

At least I would look pretty by myself.

My strawberry hair was pinned up with a pretty clip that was encrusted with Austrian crystals, and I was wearing a form fitting, silvery metallic halter gown with a plunging neckline. And, luckily, the gown was long enough to hide that I was wearing converse underneath.

"Hey, we match" said a familiar silky voice from directly behind me. I shivered and whirled around to see Blaine smirking from halfway across the room.

Stupid vampire mind-tricks.

I looked the vampire up and down to see that he was wearing an all black tuxedo with a metallic silver, skinny, silk tie.

I smirked and crossed my arms over my chest "I don't suppose you had any thing to do with the last three guys I met - turning down my invitation to the Gala, did you?"

Blaine shrugged his shoulders gracefully "I don't know what you're talking about" He said in a stoic voice "I just came to get my jacket back"

His eyes danced with merry mischief as he stared at me and I rolled my eyes.

"_Sure_" I said, drawing out the word as I tossed the vampire his jacket. He caught it and smiled at me.

"Cool, thanks" Blaine sighed, before disappearing out my window.

I snorted, shaking my head, and was in the process of turning back towards my vanity when Blaine appeared right in front of me with a wide smile on his face.

"I lied" he admitted coolly. I raised my eyebrows, feigning incredulity.

"About which part? The jacket or the guys?"

"Both"

I sighed "I expected as much" I said, before taking his hand and leading him downstairs where my family was greeting guests.

* * *

"I must say I'm presently surprised" Blaine whispered against my ear as we danced around the ballroom. I raised an eyebrow as a small smirk tugged up my lips.

"What're you talking about?" I asked.

Blaine shrugged, before using his hand to gently lift my chin so that our lips were mere millimeters from touching.

My breathing hitched and I ignored my reaction to being in such close proximity to him.

His beautiful indescribable eyes turned a brilliant silver as he leaned closer. Just as our lips barely brushed, he quickly averted himself so that his lips were back on my ear.

"You haven't mentioned Fiona all night" He said in a familiar tone. He was laughing.

I pushed him away put couldn't help my smile.

"You're an asshole" I snickered.

Blaine chuckled and tugged me back against his chest.

"I'm a vampire- we like to play games"

I looked up at him as a slow smile spread across my face "Funny, witches like to play games too"

Blaine leaned closer, his eyes twinkling with amusement. "Is that a challenge Ms. Callista Adler?"

I used his closeness to my advantage and kissed him lightly on the lips.

"Well, Blaine, it isn't a job offer. And it's _Miss_ Callista Adler, to you sir" I whispered against his lips before disappearing into the crowd of gathered bodies. I left Blaine smirking after me on the dance floor.

If he wants to play "heart for hearts" I like myself nothing more than a challenge.

_Game on, Cali_.

I laughed mentally _No fair. You can't use your mind-stuff during game play. Get out of my head._

_Fine. But you can't use any love spells, incantations, hexes, or potions- or any other form of magic - _Blaine

_I don't see why you had to sign your name after that- I know it's you talking._

_I know you know. But tonight, when you're lying in your bed all alone, you'll think of how I signed my name on your thoughts- and you'll swoon over how romantic it is. - _Blaine

_You really need to find a hobby_ I joked.

"I already have one" Blaine said as he appeared in front of me. He wrapped an arm around me and kissed me passionately, pulling us out of the line of sight from the other guests.

"It's called chasing Cali" he breathed. I felt his sharp teeth graze the soft flesh of my throat and stole myself a moment to reflect before pushing him away.

I waggled my finger in front of him as I tsked.

"You're pushing it, Pierce"

Blaine grinned wolfishly at me.

I watched in silent awe as a rose appeared in his outstretched hand. It was a dark crimson red, tipped with black around the petal edges. It was beautiful.

He caressed my face with it playfully before dropping the rose in my hand.

"Night" he smirked, winking as he disappeared from sight.

I stared after him for a few seconds before smiling to myself.

Boy-oh-Boy did I love me some "heart for hearts".

* * *

**_Sorry for the shortness but I've seemed to have lost some of my creative juices. For those of you wondering "heart for hearts" is a game that supernaturals (mostly witches and vampires) play. It's usually with a human and the purpose of the game is to get the human to fall so madly in love with you that they would give you anything your heart desired- including their own beating heart- or the hearts of others. i.e. heart for hearts. So yeah- Blaine and Cali have just agreed to play a modified game of that.  
Review and tell me what you think- and i promise the chapter will be longer next time!_**


	5. Chapter 5

_**Alright guys. Sorry for the long wait, but I believe the story will be a whole hell of a lot better from here on out. I recently started collaborating with xxdarknessxfallsxx (A writing genius, who graciously agreed to donate her time into helping me with this story) Give her some props and check out her stories. They're brillaint. Don't forget to review- and now, enjoy.  
**_

* * *

_I watched in silent awe as a rose appeared in his outstretched hand. It was a dark crimson red, tipped with black around the petal edges. It was beautiful._

_He caressed my face with it playf_ _ully before dropping the rose in my hand._

"_Night" he smirked, winking as he disappeared from sight._

_Boy-oh-Boy did I love me some "heart for hearts."_

I twirled the stem of the rose between my fingers, a small smile playing at the edges of my lips as I paced frantically around my room.

Holy shit, holy shit, holy shit.

Blaine Pierce kissed me! The god-like vampire that could make even the most hardest of hearts melt and turn to mush in his fingers- had kissed me. I could still taste, and feel, his lips against mine.

Wait, why am I so excited about this? Me acting like this is exactly what the blood-sucking fiend wants. He's probably watching me pace back and forth like an idiot, right now.

I wonder if my hair looks okay…

My fingers twitched towards my red locks involuntarily and I let out a small, irritated groan as I collapsed onto my bed.

If I didn't know any better, I'd say that I was losing this game already.

That damn gorgeous, all-powerful, vampire bastard. As far as I was concerned, this game was invalid. It's practically impossible for anyone _not_ to fall at Blaine's feet in worship. And me? I'm a short, hot-tempered witch with laziness issues. In other words, I was doomed.

I felt my lips begin to tremble as my frustration got the best of me.

Shit, shit, shit.

This was not good. Not good at all.

_Blaine Pierce kissed me!_ screeched a small voice inside my head.

I quickly ordered it to shut up as I closed my eyes and began deep breathing exercises.

_Jesus, Cali, get a hold of yourself. It's just a crush. A crush. Besides, there are more important things to worry about right now._

There was a small crash somewhere downstairs and I carefully crept off the silk covers of my bed, just as Josephine burst through the door.

"Josie, what's going on? What's wrong?" I asked, instantly alarmed by the panicked look on her face.

"Where's Twix?" Josephine asked, completely ignoring my question as her head whipped around the room. "I'm going to find her. You need to get out of here- now."

Before I could ask her what was going on, _again_- she was gone.

I frowned at my empty doorway where Josephine stood, Blaine Pierce completely forgotten, for the most part.

What the hell was going on?

I peaked outside the hallway to find it eerily quiet. I was about to return to my room when a flash of gray caught my attention.

Was that a de-

Crispin surged to life around my throat then sped off down the hall after the demon as I retreated back into my bedroom. I dashed over to my bookcase and snatched my backpack in the same movement.

As soon as I filled my backpack with things that my mother would approve of, (Grimoire, spell books, how to recite incantations for dummies, etc. etc) I pushed my window open and grabbed onto a piece of dried vine.

I vaguely noticed something orange near the first floor of the Manor, it gave off a bright glow that I recognized but couldn't place. I faintly remembered a vertical ascension spell and tried to focus on reversing it, so that I would sort of float to the ground, like a feather. I repeated the words over in my head mentally, sucking in a deep breath. Then I let go of the vine, and began to fall.

This night was shaping out to be a big pile of shit.

I let out a stream of curses when I hit the ground harder than I had intended, and stared at the Manor. Now I felt like an idiot.

The orange glow was fire. The manor was _burning_. Someone set the place on fire!

A thousand thoughts whirred through my head as I stared at the Manor. Mostly, they consisted of _shit, shit, shit. Did everyone make it out okay? _And, _I hope I didn't forget anything that I'm going to miss._

"Cali?" A deep voice snapped me out of my mental babble and I whirled around. Jack the werewolf was standing with his hands in his pockets, looking…angry. "What happened?" He asked.I raised my eyebrows suspiciously. "You don't know?"Jack narrowed his eyes. Apparently he didn't like my implication."No," he said coldly. "I wasn't feeling…I wanted to take a walk, then I came back to this!"I observed Jack more closely against the flames of the fire. There was a sheen of sweat along his skin, and his eyes were- wrong, somehow. There was a beastly nature to them that I hadn't seen before.I took a cautious step away from him, cocking my head to the side as I stared at him. Jack frowned and absently scratched his arm. "Why are you staring at me like that?" He demanded. His voice took on the likeness of a snarl.

This has certainly taken an interesting twist.

"We should get out of here," I replied, leading the way into Hex Hollow.

"Um, I wouldn't go that way if I were you."

I paused, feeling the urge to bash my own head against something. This night was getting freaking unbelievable.

And where the hell is Crispin at?

"Why not?" I retorted, trying to keep the venom from my voice.

Jack examined me warily, and it almost made me laugh. He was wary of me, even though he would be changing into a giant killing machine any minute now according to the signs in his eyes.

"Because I just came from there. It was chaos. There were demons everywhere," he said in a tentative voice.

I pinched the bridge of my nose as this sunk in. The entire city of Hex Hollow was in peril, and I'm sitting here talking about it calmly (for the most part) with a new werewolf who's going to change for the first time (supposedly) within the next half hour or so.

Lovely.

"What do you suggest we do then?" I growled.

"I'm not suggesting anything," Jack replied, lifting his hands in surrender "You witches were the idiots who built your precious city between the two most feared places on the Other Side. The way I see it, wherever we run- we're going to die."

"Well, aren't you the optimist," I remarked sarcastically as I worked out a quick fix in my head.

Basically, the choice was the Old Wood. There's no way I'm going near that freaking lake, and besides, we wouldn't get far with Jack already in the process of changing.

My eyes flicked involuntarily over to Jack as he scratched his arm viciously, drawing blood.

"Cut that out." I turned and grievously walked towards the Old Wood. Stupid, murderous forest.

"It…itches" Jack explained.

I rummaged through my backpack in search of my spell book as I muttered, "Yeah, genius. That's because you're in the process of changing."

"_Shit._"

"You took the word right out of my mouth."

"No," Jack gritted out "Look."

I let out an annoyed growl, but turned to face him. He was giving me a worried look as he held out the arm he had been scratching.

My eyes looked over it slowly and I felt vomit rise in the back of my throat.

"Oh my god," I said in a thick voice as my hand rose to cover my mouth.

His arm was fleshless on one side. There was blood dripping from it in large masses and his muscle was gashed deeply. And don't even get me started on the _smell_ that suddenly devastated my nose.

But even with all of that, the worst part by far was the disgustingly thick, blood-soaked fur that was seeping its way through Jack's muscle in that skinless area.

"What's happening?" He asked in a panicked voice. The patches of fur began to contract and lengthen.

I blinked several times, trying to snap myself out of it and force my brain to work. When it finally began to function, I blurted out the first thing that came into my head. Never a good idea.

"Take off your clothes!"

Jack's head snapped up and he stared at me, disbelieving. "What?"

"Your clothes! They're going to rip and get all bloody and then you'll have nothing to wear once you change back into human form."

"How do you know I'll change back into a human?" His panic quickly dissolving into hysteria.

I made a gesture that resembled me imitating a bird by flapping my hands around nervously. "I don't. I've never met a werewolf before- but in all the movies, the new werewolves rip their clothes, turn into a wolf-monster, and then turn back into a human several hours later with no recollection of what happened."

"You're basing this off of a MOVIE?"

"Well shit, do you have a better idea?" I asked and quickly added "Now just _calm down_. Angry werewolves never make for good company."

Jack growled. It was a very animalistic growl that made the hair along my spine stand on end.

He roughly yanked his shirt off and I paused to admire his lean body. But then I remembered his arm and snapped out of it, turning away from him while he undressed.

"You should probably get on all fours too. To make the transition easier" I suggested.

There was another growl and I heard shuffling behind me.

"Why do I get the feeling that I'm about to be raped up the ass by you and your witchy friends?" Jack sulked.

I stood rigid for a split second before bursting into uncontrollable laughter. "Nice…" I commented, barely controlling my snickering as I wiped a small tear from the corner of my eye. I turned back to see Jack, mostly shrouded by darkness, on all fours.

He shrugged, a small smile tugging up his lips. "In awkward situations I like to make things a little more uncomfortable."

I laughed again and raised my eyebrows questioningly. "Um, last I checked- you're the only one in an awkward or uncomfortable situation, here."

"Touché, Adler. Touché."

That was about the time that his convulsions started.

At first, they started as small ripples along his skin, but then they changed. I only knew this because of the small hisses of pain Jack would let escape every so often. I stared down at him, a small crease forming between my brows.

The ripples turned into painful-looking waves.

Jack was breathing ruggedly as the waves along his skin slowly started to contort his body.

"Cali," Jack called in a pained voice. Before I could answer, there were several loud cracks that echoed off of the trees around us, and Jack cried out.

His bones were breaking and becoming longer, protruding out at all of these odd angles. Jack lost consciousness when his spine began moving- but the changing process proceeded without him even being conscious for it.

I stared worriedly as I sat beside him. The weight of our situation was finally starting to soak through.

Demons were attacking Hex Hollow, I had no idea where my family was- or Crispin for that matter, and I was in the Old Wood (even if only on the outskirts) with an unconscious werewolf who could easily turn on me when he wakes up. Or, something that was a dangerous demon unique to the Old Wood could attack me while Jack was still asleep, and I'd have no one to even hear me scream.

_Lovely, Cali. That's a lovely thought._

I let out a huff of air and wrapped my arms around my knees because of the cold. The shock of the evening caught up with me.

I sat huddled for quite awhile, staring silently at the rugged rise and fall of Jack's chest as he lay sprawled on the ground. His shallow breaths were the only calm, continuous noise in a place like this. The wind howled as it picked up, far-off noises echoed off of each tree's trunk in the silence. I whipped my head left and right at each and every sudden sound.

Truly, I was procrastinating. I knew that I should be setting up warding spells, at least something for protection, but I couldn't force my limbs to move.

An icy wind sliced through the calm silence and sent prickles of cold down my skin. I realized what a huge mistake I made. This was _the Old Wood_, god damnit. What was I thinking? I got to my feet and picked up my spell book, quickly thrumming through the pages to find a quick and easy warding spell. It was getting close to the witching hour, when things in the Old Wood got _really_ bad- so I had to hurry up.

There was large gust of wind and the trees moved with it, creaking and snapping as they bent towards me.

_Okay, warding spell to protect against mental and supernatural forces- check._ The trees immediately recoiled as a bright blue light erupted around Jack and I in the shape of a half-circle.

Now for the physical wards…my fingers started flipping through pages again.

I paused when the wailing wind started up again. It was still cold, but there was something about it that made me anxious. Like the calm before the storm.

I heard the tree branches begin to creak again and turned in time to see a pair of large, glowing yellow eyes staring back at me from the tops of a tree branch. There was a quick flash of panic when I remembered the scene that had unfolded the last time I was in here. Hundreds of demons in one tree…

Goosebumps rose along my arms and I swiveled to spot another pair of glowing eyes.

When I turned back to Jack I noticed that most of his fur had fully emerged- he would be waking up any second now. Then there was the matter of the other set of glowing red eyes a few feet away from him.

_Shit… _The wards would hold for now, right?

_Don't bet on it,_ a small, cynical voice replied at the back of my head.

I closed my eyes and let out a sigh when a deep growl sounded through the forest. My eyes snapped up to see a giant, angry-looking wolf snarling at me from the same place that Jack had been a few seconds ago.

I let out a small stream of curses as I tried to fathom a way out of this predicament.

The beast took a threatening step towards me; another low growl escaping his muzzle.

Fucking ay- I hate the Old Wood.


	6. Chapter 6

_**Sorry for the long wait guys. I hope this chapter is well worth it. Don't forget to show xxdarknessxfallsxx her due props in your reviews! Also check out her stories, this one would be nothing without her!  
So, enjoy. And don't forget to review!**_

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_I let out a small stream of curses as I tried to fathom a way out of this predicament._

_The beast took a threatening step towards me; another low growl escaped his muzzle._

_Fucking ay- I hate the Old Wood._

The seconds passed slowly in front of me, like somebody pressed the slow-motion button on the remote. I know my heart pounded faster than ever before, and I know that Jack- or the monstrous wolf before me that was once Jack- was about to kill me. I locked eyes with the beast, my eyes in line with his, and I knew that the animal did not register that it knew_ who_ I was, only _what_ I was: his meal.

Even though all of the odds of speed were against me, I turned and ran as fast as I possibly could.I panicked at this point, so I will admit; it was not the smartest idea.

My feet kicked up dirt hard as my legs screamed with speed. I made sure the path in front of me hid no other demons in the shadows, but I couldn't exactly predict what was going to be around each and every tree trunk as I weaved through and through. I concentrated on the warding spell I conjured earlier, in addition to not tripping over my own feet, hoping I was at least protected from the dangers in the Old Wood, even if I wasn't from the beast I heard right on my heels!

The wolf's size pounded a rhythm into the ground that crept closer and closer. The moment I felt the beast right on top of me, I ducked my head to the right underneath a tree branch as I suppressed a scream.

The tree's bark creaked as claws ripped through it right where my head should have been. Without looking back, I headed for the cover behind another tree trunk, then another. Before long, the pounding rhythm of the wolf's feet began to dull. I convinced myself that I'd lost him for the sake of keeping myself from a heart attack. I felt safer as I hid myself behind a large oak. The Old Wood was frightening and dark; it seemed that even though the moon was full, the night was pitch-black as on a night of a new moon. As I drew in a long, shaky breath, I wished for the familiar feeling of Crispin around my throat so I could have some other protection than my shot concentration.

I let out a shaky breath, while offering myself soothing, calming thoughts. Anything to distract me from the very real fact that Jack, the werewolf, was trying to kill me.

And you think you know a person…

I slowly twisted around as the constant thudding of large paws became less audible. I silently hissed at my stupid, red hair for shining like a bright flame in this god-forsaken forest. I wonder if the color red upsets werewolves like it does bulls…

Thinking back to all of the movies I've seen, there's always a scene where the sound of the approaching killer fades, then the killer is right behind the frightened girl! I shivered involuntarily and took a wary step back._ What_ I backed into surprised me; it was soft and warm and honestly held no place in the Old Wood.

I froze when I felt a warm breath caress the flesh of my neck. Suppressing the strong urge to cry, I dashed away as quickly as my legs would carry me, but it turned out that my legs couldn't carry me far enough. Within a matter of seconds, I was tackled roughly to the ground, the smell of musty earth thick everywhere. I coughed and spluttered while trying to keep my thoughts away from the giant claws (talons are for birds XD) that were piercing my flesh, keeping me pinned.

I was getting ready to start begging when something in the far corner caught my eye.

There were those god-damn glowing eyes again, from some unknown creature of the Old Wood. I struggled beneath the wolf's weight, all while reminding myself that this wasn't Jack who was trying to kill me, it was something else entirely. I let out a small cry when the claws pierced my skin and tore a deep gash down my back.

Not good.

I hissed out a quick knock-back spell and reveled in the freedom of actually being able to breathe without the beast's weight on me. Then, I was running again. This time, rather than chancing another tackle, I headed for the safety of the trees. The first low-branched tree I spotted was my target. I made a quick leap and grabbed hold of the sturdy branch, and carefully pulled myself up. Once I was steady, I repeated the process, sighting branches and climbing upwards.

It wasn't long before the beast spotted me, and to my dismay, it began climbing the tree at a much quicker pace then I was. The thing would be on me within seconds.

I could feel my heart thumping rapidly in my chest, and the blood rushing to my head, creating a constant pounding just at the edge of my thoughts. Frustrated tears threatened to spill over and I quickly wiped them away while reaching for the next branch. This was my nightmare.

No…no, my nightmare actually consisted of Blaine and Fiona together, but in my present predicament- this was far worse than Fiona and Blaine sucking face. However nauseating that thought might be.

A sound to my right snapped me out of the morbid thoughts that were threatening to take over, and I glanced over.

Again, I saw the glowing eyes. The creature, whatever it was, leaned forward and I found myself staring into the face of a black barn owl. Josephine's familiar!

To describe the feeling of relief that washed over me would be like trying to describe the feeling of wind against your flesh that matched the temperature of the air around you. Impossible, but no less amazing.

"Rupert! Find Josephine and Twix. Tell them I'm in trouble. And if you can, pass it along to Crispin that I am royally pissed off. Now hurry!"

I turned my gaze downwards to see the wolf leaping gracefully from branch to branch, its coal-gray eyes set on me. Shit, shit, shit.

_Think, Cali, think!_

I hurriedly took branches two at a time, silently wondering what the hell I would do once I got to the top, and tried to ignore the creeping thoughts that warned me of the creatures that were waiting for me up there.

Stupid, stupid, intuition.

Where was an all-powerful vampire with a shiny car when you needed him?

A small thought sparked at the back of my mind, telling me to jump. I glanced down, and rather than risk the several broken bones that would surely arise if I were to make that leap, I continued climbing. The wolf's growls seemed to vibrate right into my heels, he was so close now!

There was a small breeze, and I scowled at nothing in particular. Without a moment to lose, Twix and Josephine appeared, hovering near me on…broomsticks. Josephine was holding hers for dear life, while Twix looked like a model for Witch Weekly; ever stoic, ever beautiful.

The wolf stopped his pursuit of me as my friends took his attention.

I glanced at the both of them before laughing hysterically. "Are you two on…brooms?" I burst out, disbelieving.

The corner of Twix's mouth perked up into a crooked smirk, she eyed her nails before glancing down at the snarling wolf a few branches away.

"Poor little-red riding hood, chased all the way to the old wood by the big, bad wolf. Did he already eat your basket of cookies?" She teased in a lilting voice. I narrowed my eyes at the witch.

"Not funny. Now how the hell do I stop him?" I replied. The wolf seemed to be getting impatient with our idleness. He slowly climbed the next few branches while never taking his menacing eyes from us. The beast moved easily and with a certain grace that resembled lions before they were about to strike their prey.

Twix raised her shoulders in a graceful shrug and her eyes returned idly to Jack "Heck if I know. Josie, what about you? Know anything about stopping werewolves dead in their tracks?"

Josephine seemed paler than usual, she was staring at Jack with a forlorn look in her eyes.

I sighed impatiently, but did my best to cover it by whispering, "It's not really him Josie. He can't control what he's doing."

Josephine seemed to visibly shake herself before offering me an assuring smile and a slight nod.

"I think my mom mentioned something about a knock-back spell powerful enough to knock werewolves out of their transformation" Josephine offered.

Twix and I nodded dumbly. "Okay…any idea how this is of use to us right now?" I asked

Twix pursed her lips as Josephine scowled at the ground a good twenty feet beneath her.

"Not...really, no" Josephine adorned with a small smile playing at the edges of her lips.

I mentally winced, calculating whether or not it would be a good idea to jump for one of their broomsticks and hope that it could hold my weight.

"So what were your plans, exactly, when you came here?" I asked, laughing besides myself.

"Didn't have one. It was more like we were on auto-pilot, really, with all that's happening," Josephine said honestly.

I nodded. My body kept climbing as we conversed, until I was near the top and couldn't go any further up. With nowhere to go, the hungry werewolf below me only had to wait until he caught up to me.

Oh god. I was going to die. I could already tell.

Desperate, I looked to Twix, who was a much more experienced flyer than Josie, and I silently sought permission from her with my wide eyes. I felt scared, and my mind wanted my body to do one thing: jump to safety. Twix understood my desire and positioned her broom so that she was near enough for me to grab the nose of the stick if I leaped. From there, she would be able to pull my weight up and get away from the beast.

Except the werewolf had other plans in mind.

"Josephine!" Twix motioned toward the werewolf that was about to maul me, signaling for Josie to do something about him. Josie struggled to keep her balance and concentration on the broomstick while muttering the same knock-back spell I did earlier. It didn't have as deliberate as effect as mine did, but it still gave me enough time to jump from the tree and grab Twix's broomstick.

The werewolf roared ferociously as he fell from his place on the tree. Before Josephine could knock him back again, the beast grabbed onto a branch and slung his weight around so he projected his mass toward me as I dangled from Twix's broom.

I screamed as his paw hooked onto my leg and tore my fingers from Twix's broomstick. Both the werewolf and myself fell, but at least I knew a spell that would let me travel safely to the ground, like I used earlier to get out of the mansion. Quickly, I uttered it out and I felt like I became only a fraction of my real weight. The werewolf, however, continued to fall, snarling and howling the entire way down. Once my feet touched the ground, I was prepared to flee again. Luckily, someone older and more experienced had another idea. My mom and a number of other grown witches literally appeared out of the foggy air, and- before anyone could make a move- trapped the werewolf Jack in a small binding circle. The werewolf snarled and raved madly within the invisible boundary, before my mom blithely uttered a powerful-sounding spell. Then, Jack was a werewolf no more. He laid naked on the ground, just a harmless, shivering young man again; I quickly looked away and towards my mom.

They couldn't have shown up at a better time.

I ran over to my mother and flung my arms around her; she hugged me just as tightly. While I found comfort in a familiar grasp, there was graveness in her body that reminded me of the reality of the situation: The safest place to be was the Old Wood, the town of Hex Hollow had been ravaged and the manor was up in flames.I looked up at my mother's weary face. "What's happening?" I asked, fear lingering in my voice.

Somehow , I knew, that whatever her reply would be- it wouldn't be the one I wanted to hear.


	7. Chapter 7

_**Alrighty, sorry for the long wait guys- xxdarknessxfallsxx and I, are still trying to get our writing schedule worked out. Also, the next chapter will probably be longer- we just agreed that where we left it was fine. Anywhoo, updating for my other stories will probably be a little slow. My computer is being a super-crazy-bitch to me and not working, so we have to get it fixed before I can do anything. I'm kind of pissed about it because we're probably going to need to replace the damn thing, and all of my writing is on here .  
Okay, enough of that, enjoy the chapter, and don't forget to check out other stories by xxdarknessxfallsxx and myself!**_

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__I looked up at my mother's weary face. "What's happening?" I asked, fear lingering in my eyes.  
Somehow, I knew, that whatever her reply would be- it wouldn't be the one I wanted to hear._

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"Apparently, we've been attacked," my mother replied tiredly. "There was a breach in the wards we set up- but we don't know what caused it. We've assembled a team to do some investigating, but in the meantime would you mind doing some scouting of your own?"

I nodded shakily "Of course. You don't even have to ask."

My mom took a deep breath and offered me a sad smile.

"Okay. We're going to go survey the damage. Jack will be in that state for awhile, so you don't have to worry about him." I glanced at the sleeping young man on the hard ground. "Just look out for him, though. And be safe."

"Alright. See you later, love you."

Once my mom and the others had left, I turned back to Twix and Josephine. Twix stared right back at me from where she was leaning against a nearby tree, arms crossed over her chest. Josephine looked like a sick puppy, completely drained and weary of everything.

I sighed.

"Okay, Josie, it's obvious that you're not in the mood to be running around the forest on a wild goose chase, so why don't you stay here and keep an eye on Jack while Twix and I take a look around?" I offered.

Josephine looked like she was about to protest, but Twix quickly cut her off by languidly rising to her full height and sauntering off into the Old Wood, only pausing to call at me over her shoulder.

"Hurry up, Cali. I've got a date later tonight," she teased.

I paused only to offer a reassuring smile to Josephine before dashing after Twix.

After walking for a good few yards, Twix turned to me, staring at me from the corners of her eye.

"So what were you doing out here, all alone, with Jack?" Twix asked curiously, a sly catch in her voice.

I shrugged, ignoring the small blush that crept along my cheeks "Nothing. He found me after I escaped the burning manor, and we agreed that rather than risk death in the town or on the lake, we'd risk it in the Old Wood. He turning into a werewolf was just sheer, rotten luck on my part."

Twix tsked at me lightly "Oh Cali, first vampires and now ravenous, frothing-at-the-mouth werewolves. Can't you pick out a nice human boy?" she teased.

I raised a skeptical eyebrow. "You're scolding me? Even though there's nothing going on between me and the werewolf or the vampire? That's rich. Especially after your little escapades with that upper-level demon last year."

Twix shrugged lightly, a small sigh escaping her lips. "Just saying. Vampires and Werewolves are known for their temper."

I pursed my lips, eyes narrowing slightly. "Speaking of temper," I began "Have you seen Crispin? He disappeared on me back at the manor."

"Yeah, he's right here." Twix held out her hand, and there was Crispin, coiled like a bracelet around Twix's arm. "He found Josephine and I on our way back from the_ festival_ going on outside the city limits."

I nodded as Crispin wrapped himself around my throat, silently rejoicing in the feeling of cold, scaly metal wrapped around the base of my neck.

I let out a small sigh before the sound of twigs breaking caused both Twix and I to whirl around.

It was too dark to see anything, but the threatening aura was still visible. I shared a glance with Twix before we both shot off after the person- or creature.

As I ran, I again reached for the black amulet that I carried in my shoe. It was an illuminatus stone, capable of lighting an entire stadium shrouded in darkness.

As I whispered a quick spell, the stone burst into a bright, almost blinding, light. The fog, which seemed to be thickening the deeper we ran into the forest, quickly dispersed and left a full view of the person Twix and I were chasing.

"Fiona!" I heard Twix shout from ahead of me. Twix was right on the girl's heels.

There was a creeping tree root that wrapped itself around my ankle, sending me flying forward into the musty smelling earth. I had no doubt that Fiona had somehow manipulated the small root into sending me falling.

Twix ran back to help me up, before grabbing me by the arm and _literally_ dragging me along behind her.

We followed her for awhile, and she never managed to shake us, until we finally came to a stop in the clearing that I had first seen Fiona and the demon in the night when Blaine showed me. Not surprisingly, the demon was there in that clearing… well it _was_ somewhat surprising seeing as Fiona knew that Twix and I were on her heels. Why would she lead us right to the demon, right to her accomplice?

"Fiona!" Twix shouted again. This time her tone was accusing, and maybe a little hurt.

Both the demon and Fiona turned to us at the sound of her voice. She looked like hell. Were those real tears I saw glistening from her eyes?

"Oh, thank god you guys are alright." She sighed, walking towards us. "I saw the fire, and thought the worst. But then I saw my mom and a bunch of the others coming into the Old Wood so I followed to see what was going on. I didn't expect to get lost, but I did. And then I ran into _this-_" Fiona turned back to the demon. I stared at the demon intently, and noticed that he wasn't moving, or saying anything. Odd.

"He attacked me," Fiona continued, "I managed to get out a knock-back spell and run away, but somehow it just led me in a circle. This time I was prepared, and put him in a circle of paralysis."

Twix and I turned to each other.

I raised my eyebrow: _Can you believe this bitch?_

The corner of Twix's lips twitched and she shrugged clandestinely: _Not really. But we better play along. I don't know about you, but my power is running on empty._

I pursed my lips, scowling slightly: _Yeah, fine, whatever._

"So what are you going to do with him?" I asked curiously, eyeing the demon with distaste.

"We take him back to the mothers, of course!" she insisted, a small amount of hysteria in her voice. "I have no doubt _he_ is responsible for all the havoc that's been unleashed everywhere! It's time to end this." Fiona turned her back to us to stare at the paralyzed demon. Was she kidding us? Did she honestly expect this act to work? Just because you stand the same direction as someone doesn't mean you're on their side.

This was definitely some sort of trick, probably to get us possessed or dispose of us. I had a feeling that Twix and I walked right into a trap by following Fiona here. I expressed the possibility with her as we glanced at each other again.

Twix flicked her eyes between both Fiona and the demon before resting them on me; _We could take the opportunity to capture them both,_

_Or maybe that's what she wants us to do._ I replied with a narrowing of my eyes, paranoid.

_Either way, I still think we should go for it- possession would be the least of our worries if he goes free. _Twix ran her long, fiery-red painted fingernails through her hair.

I was about to agree when a sudden thought occurred to me. I glanced around warily, staring up at the trees before turning back to Twix. "Where are the other demons?" I asked quietly, not bothering to use the hyena pact form of communication anymore.

I watched as Twix's eyes widened, staring behind me and her mouth opened up in a silent _No!_  
Before anyone had a chance to make a move, Crispin leapt from my throat and disappeared behind me. I turned in time to see the Black Mamba sinking his fangs into the face of a rather grotesque-looking creature demon. Within a matter of seconds, everything seemed to slow down before speeding back up.  
The demon slowly turned to stone in front of me and Crispin coiled himself more tightly around my throat than ever before, protectively. Fiona whirled around to face us, her face a mirror of pure shock and panic. With Fiona's attention diverted, her spell on the demon broke and the devious man quickly disappeared into the forest, followed by the slithering and scuttling of the creature demons. While my back was turned, one of the leftover creature-demons somehow managed to sneak up on Twix, its piranha-like teeth snapping dangerously close to her throat. I made a jump for her but before I could reach her, another hand pulled Twix from danger while the demon burst into black flames.

I stared at the black fire with a mix of awe and horror. Black Fire was the all-consuming fire. It was one of the most powerful and complex spells in existence, and it was the very darkest sort of magic. Not even Warlocks had the stomach to try it. Slowly, I turned my head and stared at Fiona. She was panting slightly, a rose color flushing her pale cheeks. Apparently, I wasn't the only one who had witnessed that rather terrifying display of black magic. Twix was staring at the girl wide-eyed, her mouth gaping open. It was the first time I had ever seen Twix shaken; she truly looked sick.

"What the hell are you?" I gasped, taking an involuntary step away from her, pulling Twix with me.

Fiona narrowed her eyes "What the hell am I?" She repeated "I'm the girl who just saved your life!" She stammered.

"You're also the girl who just let the demon whose been causing all this panic _get away,_" I snapped

"Not to mention performing a forbidden spell," Twix muttered, looking more like herself.

Fiona seemed to pause. She looked confused before she realized what we accused; it colored her expression, and was quickly followed by a surge of anger.

"You think I'm in on all of this?" she nearly shrieked, her voice taking on a betrayed tone.

I didn't respond, I simply linked Twix's arm in mine and turned towards the direction of The Manor.

"Hurry up," I called venomously over my shoulder at Fiona. "Our moms are going to get worried."

The sounds of far-off screaming and wreckage were absent from the air as we traveled back to what was left of our home. The eerie, unnatural silence of night, devoid of chirping or croaking, was an odd comfort only after an evening like the one that passed.


	8. Chapter 8

_**A/N :Okay, this is a short one but bare with us. We agreed to make the next chapter extra long. Review and tell us your thoughts!**_

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"_You think I'm in on all of this?" she nearly shrieked, her voice taking on a betrayed tone._

_I didn't respond, I simply linked Twix's arm in mine and turned towards the direction of The Manor._

"_Hurry up," I called venomously over my shoulder at Fiona. "Our moms are going to get worried."_

"What do you think about all this, Cali?"

I barely tuned in to hear the question Twix directed toward me. Josie, she and I were all doing cleanup on the west side of the mansion, near our bedrooms.

Thank god the manor wasn't all lost in the horrible fire from the night before. Thank the heavens we all managed to make it out of last night alive, including Jack. He'd been resting since mom put him under that sleeping spell.

I turned my head to Twix, a red strand of hair falling in front of my face again. I blew it out of the way. "I'm not sure. I know Fiona is evil, and that little act last night doesn't convince me that she's one of us again. For all we know, she planned every step of what happened."

"That's what I'm sayin'," Twix agreed. "Josie, you'd believe us if you were there."

"All I'm saying is that we still need proof before we tell the mothers," Josie defended. She and Rupert, her barn owl, were working together to lift a charred, splintered beam off of what was left of a couch.

I thought about her statement for a moment. "Why wait? I mean, maybe our moms could help us." I thought of my mom. She and the other mothers left over an hour ago to call for assistance in Hex Hollow; we children were left behind to repair what we could. After last night, where even the town was defenseless to so many demons, we witches were going to need help.

Mom didn't tell me who they were turning towards for help. I hoped that whoever they were, they weren't in league with Fiona and the higher-level demon she was working with.

"I'm going with Josie on this one. We need proof so it doesn't look like we're crying wolf." Gwen hissed at the word. Twix gave her cat a gentle pat on the head.

I sighed in defeat and continued to move debris from where one of the sitting rooms used to be on the first story. Luckily, everybody's bedrooms were intact since they were on the second story, but the mansion as a whole was unstable and it took a few suspension spells to keep the manor stable to even walk inside after the fire was extinguished.

It took nearly three hours before the bottom floor could at least be called a bottom floor again. Even though it was still pretty messy, I was proud at what we accomplished. I was about to turn to Twix and brag about our awesomeness when I heard excited conversation coming from the lawn in front of the manor. Anxious to see who it was, since there's been a certain absent vampire these days, I dashed to the entrance of the home. Couldn't say I was disappointed when I saw the mothers walking up the path in a group with several extra people in their company.

I stepped outside to meet everybody when I noticed _him_. And he was not the gorgeous teenage vampire of my dreams.

This was a man with blonde hair and blue eyes- eyes like mine- and he was walking beside my mom. She seemed so happy just to talk with him; there was a smile on her face I hadn't seen since before we came back to Hex Hollow. His unshaved face and growing gut couldn't be mistaken. I ran down the dirt path to meet them, a building excitement fueled my steps.

"Cali!" the man greeted enthusiastically. I collided right into his arms, not caring if I was too old to react as I was.

"I've missed you, Dad."

My dad chuckled against my shoulders as he squeezed me once tightly before taking a step back and smiling down at me.

"Look at you," my dad said wistfully, mussing my hair.

I rolled my eyes, shrugging off my excitement.

"It's only been a few months, Dad," I said, grinning up at him.

"Well, I missed you every second of it, Cali-girl." My dad paused to stare at my mother, and then he clasped her hand. "You and your mother."

For a small second, I felt just like a normal family. Like the kind of family that's always shown on the human television shows: happy, complete, mundane.

The moment shattered when a terrifying howl erupted from inside the room Jack was placed in to sleep. He must have woken up from whatever spell my mom put on him and began the shift once again. It would take Josephine, my mother, my grandmother, and Mrs. Blackwood to subdue him. The eldest witch barked out orders as Jack's growls echoed out of the Manor.

I sighed. This was going to be a long night. Things on the road to recovery for Hex Hollow just couldn't run smoothly, could they? To make matters even worse, I noticed a certain back-stabbing witch sneaking away into the woods during all of the commotion with Jack.

Fiona's dark hair swished like a whip as she looked left and right before she snuck into the trees at the edge of the property.

Everyone else was preoccupied at this time except for me, so I did the only logical thing at the time, which could be classified at stupid and reckless by my parents. I followed Fiona, but without any backup. I_ had_ to get some proof on her betrayal so we could take care of her.

I was certain she was up to no good.


	9. Chapter 9

**xxdarknessxfallsxx here. This is my first official author's note, so I want to say THANKS for reading and reviewing, everybody! It's so much fun to be writing this story with the lovely Swan's Catastrophe. Hopefully you like this long chapter- we both understand that size really does matter. XD Happy reading!**

**_Swan's Catastrophe: Sorry for the wait, guys. What xxdarknessxfallsxx said!_**

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_Everyone else was preoccupied at this time except for me, so I did the only logical thing at the time, which could be classified at stupid and reckless by my parents. I followed Fiona, but without any backup. I had to get some proof on her betrayal so we could take care of her._

_I was certain she was up to no good._

I darted into the forest after Fiona and realized- a little too late- that it was pitch-black dark within the thick brush and collection of trees. Somehow, I managed to maneuver my way around creeping branches and vines along the forest floor, and stay behind Fiona. It was more difficult to follow her this time because I wasn't being dragged along by Twix, and the fact that Fiona's movements were more jerky now that she was out of the scrutinizing gaze of my friends. But mostly, it all dialed down to one thing: I was short and therefore clumsy.

Even with all of my shortcomings though, I didn't lose her.

She led me right back into the clearing that I had found her in so many times before. The clearing Blaine showed me her evil deeds the first time, the clearing from the night before. I was starting to think this little patch of grass was bad luck.

Suddenly, Fiona whipped around, almost causing me to run into her. I could feel the deep blush spread across my face and the intense adrenaline pumping into my heart when I was caught. This could go one of two ways, and neither of the outcomes were very promising.

"Stalking me now, Adler?" Fiona spat in an icy growl.

"Just keeping an eye on you is all," I shrugged, taking the indifferent approach regardless of my flushed appearance.

Fiona's upper lip pulled up in a delicate snarl and she shoved me away from her. I stumbled over a runaway vine and fell to the ground, hard. Meanwhile, Fiona was pacing back and forth in front of me like a crazed college professor.

Her jerky movements stopped, and she turned to me with a wistful look in her eyes.

"Y'know something?" Fiona asked, shaking her head absently, "I hate you. Like _really_ hate you. I mean, you've bullied me all my life- and now, you're accusing _me_ of betraying my coven and trying to destroy the order that _my_ family has kept in this realm for decades?"

"Bullied you? Are you kidding me?" I replied disbelievingly.

She really was a piece of work.

"Besides," I continued, "I'm not the one fraternizing with the enemy. That would be you. I saw you, Fiona, when you were with that demon."

Fiona's face turned bitter but her eyes held a look of desperation. "I didn't know who he was then!" She blurted. "I didn't know what he was trying to do, and when I found out- I left him. That's why he was chasing me earlier. He was trying to get me back."

I almost laughed at her excuse. That was the best she could come up with?

"Of course, it's a waste telling you this. You don't believe me anyway," Fiona remarked knowingly.

It was now that I tried to stand, only to realize that the creepers of the Old Wood wrapped around my wrists and ankles, keeping me attached to the ground. I knew that the evil witch in front of me manipulated them. She'd just told me how she wanted to be innocent now, yet her actions spoke an entirely different story! One where I wasn't going to have a very happy ending.

"Fiona, let me go right now!" I demanded, yanking against the vines and flinching when they only coiled tighter.

"You should have just left this alone, Cali." Fiona sighed as she yanked Crispin from my throat and locked him in a binding spell. The dirt I was basically eating and the panic she put Crispin in seemed to have no effect on her whatsoever. "Now, even my own mother is becoming suspicious of me- and you're the problem. Don't worry though. You can be easily dealt with."

"What are you talking about?" I asked, trying to keep the fear from my voice.

"Well, it's simple really, all I have to do is leave you out here. The forest will take care of you." Fiona grinned maliciously. Her eyes were the number one feature transmitting her resentment for me. As I looked up into them, they seemed like a bottomless pit for human emotion to fall into. Her hate towards me, I realized, was genuine.

Let's just say that I lost most of my cool as a realized this. "You can't do that." Upon hearing how pathetic I sounded, my fire returned. "My friends will come looking for me. They'll find me, and then we're going to turn you into our mothers."

Within an instant, Fiona was hovering above me, a large handful of my hair in her grasp. She yanked on it roughly and I bit back a cry of pain. Her voice was like a knife and her proximity threatened to kill.

"Now you listen to me, you little bitch. I'm sick and tired of always being your little scapegoat when you can't do anything right. It's a real wonder how I'm always second to you- you're absolutely pitiful. Meager, feeble, and let's not forget _weak_. It's not my fault that you're incapable of seeing the bigger issue, and I'm not going to suffer another minute of your stupidity. So, you're just gonna sit here like a good little girl and wait for the demons to come and devour you. Then _I _can go out in search of the demon behind this all, and you'll be off my goddamn back."

I was about to scream at her but she uttered out a silencing spell and that was that. Now, if the demons _did_ come, no one would even hear my screams.

"Burn in hell," Fiona said in farewell before she made her way back towards the direction of the Manor.

As I watched her calmly walk away, back toward our hearth in Hex Hollow, I realized that all she came out here to do was trap me. She hadn't been heading anywhere at all. She counted on me to follow her and see what she was up too. God, I was such an idiot! I glanced at Crispin to find some hope for him to break free from the binding spell, but the lack of gloss on his scales and eyes made a pit of my stomach. Without any sunlight to glitter from his curled body, he looked…dead. _Only bound, not dead, we were only immobile, not dead yet! _I thought, trying to remain confident.

The surge of hope didn't last long at all. The temperature dropped a few degrees as my optimism deflated. I settled into myself when I realized how alone I really was, and then I became frightened. There were rumors about the Old Wood but no one really knew what was truth and what was myth.

The weak never made it out of this place. And at the moment, I was looking pretty weak. It didn't help that my imagination was running wild the entire time, concocting horrible ways for me to die within the cover of these trees. There could be more werewolves out here, or what if a hungry troll or a wild boar stumbled across my clearing? Even worse were the images my mind created of what would happen if demons _did_ find me. They liked to play with their food.

A small whimper echoed in the back of my throat but didn't make its way up to my lips. With each passing moment, mortal paranoia and fear took a tighter hold.

There was a sharp sound to the left. I jerked my neck around to see what came to finish me off, but my eyes didn't register anything.

Suddenly, I was showered by dry bark and dead leaves from the tree behind me. I turned to the right just in time to see a creature demon scuttling towards me. Its razor-like white teeth flashed in the darkness and made my blood race. This was about the time I lost it. Even with the silencing spell, there were muffled screams coming from the back of my throat as I thrashed around on the ground trying in vain to get free of my binds.

There was a sound of cracking twigs to my left and I turned to see _another_ creature demon advancing on me from the cover of a bush.

In a split second, I thought over my options. No spells came to mind, and even if they did I couldn't cast them. The only thing I was actually capable of doing was beat the demons back with my skull. Didn't sound too successful.

I could feel my heart pounding so fiercely that the thumping of it began to rack my entire body. My head throbbed, my breath hitched, and I shook all over.

The creature demon on the tree leaped down and landed directly in front of me. It skittered towards me, stopping when it was only centimeters from my face. The monster was even more grotesque up close. Its leathery, gray skin was slimy in some places and dry in others. The featureless face was made more unnerving by its Cheshire grin the stretched from ear to ear. And then it's limbs…

The beast may have been able to pass as a human, once. But not now.

The humanoid resemblance of its build demented me for a second before the demon cocked its head to the side and let its hot, revolting, breath attack my face.

I struggled again, and the demon's clawed hand shot out and wrapped firmly around my wrist. I felt its nails break the skin and the warmth of blood drip onto the forest floor. It wouldn't be long now. Once the demon smelt the blood…

The creature demon sent me flat on my back with a newfound fervor. In one quick movement, it pinned me down with its body.

My shaking could now be considered convulsions as the demon licked a wet trail down my collarbone. I opened my mouth to let out a scream that would never be heard.

I struggled and cursed myself for my complete uselessness. The demon raked its claws over my throat, not lethally but enough to draw blood. Impossibly, the demon's smile grew wider, and its teeth aimed for my jugular. I knew how this would play out: it would rip out my throat, but not damage me enough that the pain would make me faint. The demon would have enough time to move on to other worlds of hurt and I wouldn't die for another minute or so until I choked on and drowned in the very red substance that kept me alive before this point. In other words, it would be my worst nightmare come to life. Who the hell wants to die choking on their own blood?

I shut my eyes and cringed in anticipation, but the horror of teeth never came. A half-second later, the demon's weight was removed from my body. Warily, I opened my eyes.

The demons were nowhere to be seen. Instead, my blue eyes were met with eyes like green and teal-colored smoke against a pale canvas.

I must have been a mess, because he looked thoroughly concerned. With one clean swipe, he tore through my binds, freeing me from the dampness of the forest floor. Mistaking my shivering as a response to the cold, he wrapped his jacket around me before raising the temperature a few degrees. All of this went on without a word.

My savior released Crispin from the binding spell by flicking a finger over his head, and the snake gladly made his way back to my throat. Lastly, he took the silencing spell away.

A sob I held in finally broke through and shook my body, as the shudders picked up at full force. "Blaine," I choked. My tone was relief, sorrow and despair all mixed into one feeble sound- just as Fiona described me.

Blaine crushed me to his chest while offering soothing words in that velvety voice that I had missed so much. It actually helped, but it didn't stop the uncontrollable shaking.

"You're okay," Blaine promised, planting a chaste kiss on my forehead, and then another, and another. "You're okay," he repeated, softer this time as I cried against his chest.

After I had calmed down, I stood up, rubbing the dried blood from my skin. It was hard for me to make eye contact with Blaine. In all my years, I had never cried in front of someone- except for that time when I was four, and had fallen off my broomstick in front of Twix who told me to quit being such a crybaby- and here, not minutes ago, I was literally _sobbing_ as he cradled me to his chest.

Embarrassing.

I didn't like being seen as weak, and I had no doubt, _weak_ is exactly what would come to Blaine's mind when he thought of me from now on. I couldn't bear the thought.

"Thank you," I murmured, staring at my feet.

"Don't mention it," Blaine replied. "Literally- to anyone." My head snapped up and I stared at him, my eyes swirling with confusion.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"I mean," Blaine said, taking a step towards me, "that you should keep Fiona's involvement in this whole thing to yourself. She tried to kill you tonight, you don't need to give her a reason to do it again."

"I'm pretty sure the fact that I'm still alive will be reason enough." I snorted.

"My point exactly," Blaine replied silkily. "So why add fuel to the fire by telling everyone that she tried to kill you? If you want to take her down, you have to be smart about it."

"The smart thing to do would be to tell my mother, so that she can keep that psycho as far away from me as possible."

"No, the smart thing to do would be to keep your mouth zipped and give Fiona another chance to lead you right to her demon. Kill two birds with one stone is the term, I think."

I frowned at the vampire, but after a few seconds thought, I nodded my agreement. My list of smart decisions was running short today, so I decided not to disagree for the sake of disagreement.

"Alright, c'mon, I'll walk you home," Blaine said.

"Walk?"

"Well, you need time to gather your bearings and prepare yourself. No offense, but you still look pretty awful."

"Gee, 'cause that's what every girl loves to hear," I replied sarcastically.

Blaine just grinned at me innocently.

We settled into an awkward silence, in which I took the time to chant out a glamour spell; to fix my awful appearance, as Blaine put it.

"So where've you been?" I asked curiously after a few seconds. Blaine glanced at me from the corner of his eyes.

"Around," he replied mysteriously.

"Around where?"

His lips twitched up around the edges, and suddenly I found myself pinned between the trunk of a large tree and Blaine's body.

"Wouldn't you like to know…" he teased against my lips.

I shivered against him and grinned. "Fine, play coy," I said curtly when he took a small step back. "I have ways of finding out, anyway."

Blaine's smirk was arrogant. "We'll see."

I narrowed my eyes but let him continue to lead me back towards the manor.

We spent the rest of the walk chatting about mundane things like the news and other meaningless topics.

It wasn't until we arrived back at the manor that things got interesting.

* * *

When Blaine and I stepped through the front door of the Manor, I couldn't say I was relieved that Fiona wasn't near the front room at the time. I would have killed to see the look on her face when I stepped inside, perfectly alive.

Maybe not perfectly intact, but alive. Hopefully my glamour does its work to keep my parents in the front room from worrying about me more than necessary. Blaine stood to my left when the heads of my parents and two other mothers turned to see who just shut the front door.

"Cali! Where have you been?" my mother asked. The grandfather clock we salvaged from the fire read just after midnight.

"I…" No one but me could hear a small growl from Blaine's throat. "…got lost in the woods. Luckily, Blaine was there to lead me back home."

"Good man," my father commented in response to my story. He looked directly at Blaine with a thankful smile on his face. When I glanced toward Blaine, he was staring back at my father with a quiet nod on his head. The vampire actually seemed, surprised as he looked at my father.

"Come inside, darling. Are you cold, would you like something to warm you?" My mother noted Blaine's jacket still wrapped around me, which I peeled away and acted as normal as I could. The shaking hadn't totally gone away, however.

"No, I'm fine, Mom," I assured. My smile was genuine-looking enough to convince her.

"Thank you for bringing her home," my mother told Blaine.

"Yes, you couldn't have picked a better time to show back up," my father added. He'd risen from the couch and walked over to the two of us. I moved aside when my father's hand stretched out to shake Blaine's with approval. My dad's familiarity for the vampire seemed suspicious. And how did he know that Blaine had left?

"Just doing my job," Blaine replied easily.

My face held many questions when both males glanced at me. They looked at each other again, this time, my father nodded once.

"Come sit over here next to me, Cali," my father instructed. "I think it's time I told your mother and you something about Blaine."


	10. Chapter 10

_**A/N: Another chap for you guys!  
**_

_**Enjoy,**_

**_- Swan's Catastrophe_**

_

* * *

__My face held many questions when both males glanced at me. They looked at each other again, this time, my father nodded once._

"_Come sit over here next to me, Cali," my father instructed. "I think it's time I told your mother and you something about Blaine."_

I cast my father one serious look of _'what the heck is going on?' _using my facial expression. My eyes flew directly to Blaine, whose face resembled the exact opposite of my confusion. He looked at my father as if he'd received some sort of permission, and without a word took a few steps back. I glanced between the two, before finally going to sit beside my father, casting accusing looks in Blaine's direction the entire time. My father sighed, wrapping an arm around my mother as he leaned back. I stared at him, waiting for what was coming next.

"When I first heard that there was something going on in Hex Hollow, I knew it would only be a matter of time before the covens here requested your presence." He glanced at my mother. "I began to get worried, no one knew what was really going on here, only that there had been several demon attacks- and the Crowley's had given up their position of power. I became suspicious, and wanted to keep you safe, so I hired Blaine, who doubles as a body guard in his spare time, to watch out for you." There was a hint of a smile on my father's face, but I forced myself to feel nothing but numbness. Blaine was hired to protect me? To, talk to me? To, comfort me?

I knew that heart-soaring moment from a few weeks ago at that party, when vampire-hottie Blaine Pierce walked up to me out of the crowd, was completely fake.

I turned my head slowly to stare at Blaine, but he had successfully managed to avert his gaze the second I turned towards him.

'Cause that didn't scream guilty, at all.

I turned back to my father, a deep frown settling over my features.

"Well, I can tell you first hand, that you made an excellent investment," I said icily. "I'm going to bed; it's been a long day."

My mother reached for me as I turned, but I recoiled from her and rushed from the room. Not surprisingly, Blaine followed after me.

"Cali-"

"Save it," I said, my hair whipping from side to side as I shook my head. I turned again, but was immediately stopped by a firm hand on my shoulder. Blaine turned me to face him, his eyes searching mine.

"Just let me explain, will you?"

I gave a small half-snort before beckoning him towards my bedroom. Before the door had even closed, I was already firing off my first question.

"So, basically, the only reason you approached me before we came to Hex Hollow was because my dad asked you too?" I said, unable to keep the accusing tone from my voice.

Blaine smirked, averting his eyes. "I'll admit, you were a lot more alluring than the other Alder's… I dare say that you're beautiful, yet again." He glanced up just to see the red spray of hair across my face, hiding my emotions. "I've meant everything I've said up to this point. I'll leave it at that."

I raised an eyebrow "Alright, so, you've meant everything you said up until the _'I'll admit, you were a lot more alluring than the other Alder's' _part?"

The hint of a smile made its way onto Blaine's face and he wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling me closer.

"Nope. I meant that too," he said, lips inches away. I smiled, unable to stay mad at the vampire for long. I mean, c'mon, he was a hunk.

"You should go," I said, smile still on my face. Blaine raised an eyebrow, leaning closer.

"Not until I get a goodnight kiss," he leaned forward, and I blocked his lips with my hand.

"I don't think so, buddy. You don't get a reward for lying to me. Now, go. Maybe I'll change my mind tomorrow."

Blaine rolled his eyes as he backed towards the window. "Yeah, yeah," he sighed. "Now that you know I'm protecting you, you can sleep well, little witch."

I stuck my tongue out at him before he disappeared out the window. I still didn't understand why the boy was so opposed about using a door. Freaking. Weird. Vampire. I stood in the center of my room, unable to decide on what I was going to do now. I wasn't in the mood to do homework, but I _was_ in the mood for some pasta. That's it! When in doubt, veg out. I stepped back out into the hallway, and ran into none other than Lucifer, the ferret from hell. Fiona trailed not far behind him. She was humming a dark tune to herself which was cut short the moment she laid eyes on me.

Surprised to see that I was still alive and well, I bet.

Her eyes narrowed into thin slits and she approached me with the grace of a ballet dancer…or a lethal assassin.

"_You,_" she said scathingly. "What are _you _doing here? I thought that even if you survived what happened, you'd at least have the brains to _stay away_. It seems I overestimated you, Callista Adler."

"Not by a long shot," I growled, crossing my arms over my chest. "It may not be today, it may not be tomorrow, but you _will ____pay for what you did."_

Fiona cackled coldly. "Am I supposed to be afraid of your little threats?" she teased, taking a threatening step closer. "I hope you do try something Cali. That will be an excellent excuse for why I had to kill you- self defense."

I narrowed my eyes and stood my ground. I wouldn't let her intimidate me anymore.

"Last I checked, I was the better witch, and you're the one who has problems with attacking defenseless people. We'll just see whose side the Mothers take," I hissed in a low voice.

Fiona shook her head sadly and took a step away from me.

"You just won't stop." Fiona snickered. "No one can say that you don't know how to antagonize people Cali, but I'm bored of this conversation. Just stay away from me, and keep my name out of any conversations you have about tonight, and we won't have another problem."

My eyes flickered to the corner where I saw a flash of light disappear down the hall.

"Jack, wait!" I called, and a few seconds later Jack appeared, looking a lot better than he had before. The shirtless part could've had something to do with it.

"Yeah?" He grunted, glancing between me and Fiona. Fiona's eyes were practically bulging from their sockets as she stared back at him.

"How much of that did you hear?" she demanded. Ignoring her, I turned to him.

"I was just going downstairs to make some pasta, do you want some?" I asked. Jack stared at me as if I'd just suggested he swim naked in Lake Dread. After a few seconds, he glared at me.

"No," he snapped. The sharpness of his tone startled me. "Why would I want to hang out with someone who almost got me killed?"

_Not_ what I was expecting. "Excuse me?" I gasped, "You almost killed me, but I know it wasn't your fault, so what's the problem?"

"My problem, is you letting your little bloodsucker friend set fire to the manor and have his demon hordes destroy the city. Whose side are you on, anyway?"

For a long time I just stared at Jack dumbfounded, before bursting into laughter. "You think Blaine is the one doing all of this?"

"I saw him with my own eyes," Jack growled. I shook my head.

"No, the person who's doing all of this is standing right behind you," I argued. Fiona charged towards me, her icy eyes going white.

"Why, you little-" Jack stuck out his arm to hold Fiona back as he cast me a disgusted look.

"I can't believe you'd throw a fellow witch under the bus to protect a disgusting parasite," Jack spat.

"Says the witch-eating-werewolf who turns on the people that brought him in," I seethed. Jack smiled viciously, his head snapping back and forth in an angry shake.

"You're unbelievable."

And just like that, he left with Fiona.

I'm pretty sure a fly could have flown into my open mouth, which was unhinged with shock, and I wouldn't have noticed. Honestly though, what the hell just happened? How could Jack have seen Blaine do anything, if he was with me the entire time- trying to eat me! And proposing Blaine would do anything like that was preposterous- I just learned that he was my family's protector. Last I checked, protecting didn't involve setting the house on fire.

God, this place was full of crazies.

I stomped into the kitchen, fuming, and then saw Twix sitting on the counter, her lean legs spread out in front of her languidly, as she munched on a granola bar.

"Wanna talk about it?" she asked, without even glancing up.

"Nope," I replied curtly.

"Wanna make me something to eat?" she tried again. I turned to my best friend with a smile; she just stared at me over her granola bar and raised an eyebrow.

"Why not," I sighed. A pleased smirk broke out on Twix's face and she reclined even further along the counter.

"Good," she said lightly "And you can tell me what happened while we eat."

I snickered bitterly to myself and brought stressed blue eyes to her dark ones. "Why not," I repeated, only this time it sounded more like a 'thank you.'

Somewhere during the time I was cooking pasta, I sent Crispin to summon Josie downstairs. If I was going to talk, I was only going to do it once, and with the security no one unwanted was listening around corners of hallways.

By the time I'd told both my friends about everything from Fiona trying to kill me to the conversation right before I walked to the kitchen, minus my romantic banter with Blaine, Twix and Josie had both beaten me over the head for going into the forest without backup and then comforted me when hearing about my near-death experience. Their jaws dropped when I told them about Jack and Fiona.

"I can't believe Jack said that to you, though," Josie said, feeling a little hurt because of the crush she had on the were-boy.

"I can't believe that he actually sides with her," Twix added. "As soon as we catch Fiona in the act, everyone will have no problems being on our side, Mothers included."

We all nodded in agreement.

We planned that tomorrow would start the more elaborate work to expose Fiona. The three of us decided our goals, which were to keep an eye on her and never let her wander off by herself without two of us to follow, and to make sure she didn't possess anybody with lesser demons in the Manor, especially Jack. Maybe that was why he'd sided with her, I thought- he'd been under control.

"Time to quit," Twix finally announced with a long stretch. Josie and I followed her up the stairs until we came to a parting point. "See you guys in the morning."

I waved to them both before returning to my room. Inside, it was really brisk because Blaine left the window ajar from when he'd exited earlier. I couldn't help but smile when thinking of him. Blaine: Cali's vampire love interest and protector. I sighed and went to close the window, the very same window I'd jumped out of when the Manor was on fire, when it hit me.

I realized that my family's protector had been absent, starting from an hour before the attack on the house up until my rescue in the woods only hours ago.

Where had he been during the attack and clean up the following day? Definitely not doing his job, because I had terrifying memories of a certain werewolf and the Old Wood to prove that.

Jack's words echoed in my mind as my doubt arose,

_"your little bloodsucker friend set fire to the Manor … his demon hordes destroy the city."_


	11. Chapter 11

_Where had he been during the attack and clean up the following day? Definitely not doing his job, because I had terrifying memories of a certain werewolf and the Old Wood to prove that._

_Jack's words echoed in my mind as my doubt arose,_

_"Your little bloodsucker friend set fire to the Manor … his demon hordes destroy the city."_

I chewed on my nail while my brain ran over every explanation that could clear up the sudden problem I'd realized. While I seriously doubted he was behind the attack on Old Wood, there was now a possibility. And when doubt enters a person's mind followed by possibility of their guilt…

When I tried to go to sleep and think well of Blaine in my dreams, it didn't exactly come easy. In fact, my dreams were nightmares after I closed my eyes.

First, I saw Fiona looking evil and then doing horrible things to me all over again, since I had just come from a near-death experience. I fought against my dream, then, and ended up making Fiona go away by shouting. When she disappeared, Blaine appeared. He was gentlemanly at first, but then his figure twisted from human-looking to a demonic form. His eyes glowed red and his skin sharpened and darkened. I wanted to run, but he came at me before I got away.

When I opened my eyes, a veil of terror cloaked my senses. It took awhile for me to completely calm down, like after a hot cup of tea from the kitchen.

I tried to rationalize with myself. Blaine _couldn't_ be in league with the demon Fiona associated herself with.

But, if this were true, where had he been during the attack?

I sighed out a long breath over the steaming tea cup. I knew how to solve this problem- I would just ask him! He would give a good explanation and then I could sleep well knowing that Jack was a liar who was just being manipulated by Fiona.

Even then, I wouldn't sleep well. I had really started to like Jack, disregarding the part when he really tried to kill me, so it sucked to see him siding with Fiona. This situation was really lose-lose. I let out another sigh and made to leave the kitchen, nearly running into Jack himself. He and I stared at each other for what seemed like hours, before I apologized and quickly made my exit. Jack stared after me as I hurriedly made my way to the front door, and out into the yard.

Well, that had certainly been awkward. I glanced back at the front door, muttering something along the lines of _stupid, brainwashed werewolves _and made my way towards Twix's window. It was a good twenty feet above me, but that didn't matter much. Witches had a way of communicating from afar. As long as their familiars were close enough to each other, they could pass along messages; much like Crispin was doing now. His metallic form turned hot against my skin, almost scalding, and his eyes glowed red. A few moments later, I could just make out the shape of Gwen's feline form pacing along the windowsill, her icy blue eyes darting between the inside of Twix's room and me. It only took seconds before Twix's spiky head popped out of the window and she smirked down at me.

"Another crisis-talk, so soon?" she asked, half teasing. I rolled my eyes and shrugged helplessly.

"Just get your sarcastic butt down here," I snorted, tapping Crispin's head so that he could send the message to Josephine's familiar, Rupert. As I always did when I was in serious doubt of something, I ran for my friends. Twix was in the process of carefully climbing down the dried up vines that lined the Manor walls, and Josephine was just now opening her window.

She smiled down at me, looking very much like Juliet, or Rapunzel, or any other beautiful heroine of the past and raised an inquisitive eyebrow.

"Why don't we fly tonight?" Josephine asked softly. "I've done enough work on my feet this week that if I never walked again, it would be too soon."

Twix grunted softly as she jumped the last few feet to the ground, landing with the grace of a cat. Sometimes, I really envied her. She smirked at me, as if reading my thoughts, before turning her dark eyes on Josephine.

"Broom ride," Twix muttered, her voice calculating, after a few seconds she perked up. "Sounds fun."

I pursed my lips in concentration, trying to remember my summoning spell; once I got it down, my broom appeared. Literally, out of nowhere.

"Okay, Cali." Twix sighed, mounting her bright red broom stick "You talk, we ride."

"Sometimes I wonder why you weren't born human, Twix," Josephine said softly as she glided toward us- already on her broom, "You're certainly theatrical enough to be one."

"Yes," Twix agreed. "But I'm also magical, so in that case I should be a unicorn."

I snorted out a laugh. "You may be theatrical and magical, but you are certainly no unicorn. If I recall, unicorns are supposed to be innocent- something that you lack."

Twix's dark eyes snapped to me, there was something there, rolling just beneath their dark surface, and she smiled. "You're right." Twix said. "Cali would be the unicorn, I'd be the-"

"Succubus," Josephine put in. I laughed aloud as Josephine snickered, after a few seconds of Twix growling, she cracked a smile.

"Perhaps," Twix said after a while, laughing right along with us. "Now let's get out of here St. Josephine and Cali the innocent unicorn."

Josephine and I laughed, soaring higher into the sky. Hopefully, my friends would be able to put things in perspective for me.

"You're being an idiot." That was the first thing Twix said to me after I told her about Blaine. "We've already talked about this, Fiona is a manipulative bitch- yeah, it sucks that she got to werewolf boy, who is completely capable of ripping us to shreds when the full moon comes around, but it's not like we didn't see this coming. She's trying to alienate you as much as possible so that when it comes time to rat her out to the mother's no one will believe you."

I frowned at the witch resting like a snoozing cheetah on her broomstick. "Is that supposed to make me feel better?"

Twix raised an eyebrow and shrugged one shoulder disinterestedly. "Did it?"

"No."

"Then, no,"

Josephine rolled her eyes at our little exchange, and maneuvered her broom so the she was facing the manor. Right now, we weren't hovering above the safest of areas; we were actually about fifty feet above Lake Dread- for privacy mostly. No one ever wandered around in this area, but it was still unsettling.

My eyes flicked down towards the smoky water of the lake, and I could swear that I saw a giant shadow fall over the area of water directly beneath us. After staring for a few seconds, I realized that it wasn't a shadow above the water, but something underneath the surface. Something big, and dark. I continued to stare, and a large, yellow eye popped out. It stared intently at us.

"Let's go," I said hurriedly.

"Right behind you."

"Agreed."

Apparently I wasn't the only one who saw that particularly blood-curdling sea monster. Josie and Twix's eyes were the size of serving platters as the monster in the murky water let one of its grotesque, slimy tentacles emerge from the water and test the air. Expecting the worst, I tensed and kept my eyes on the moving part… But the appendage only moved lazily back and forth, as if the thing was actually waving at us. The three of us sighed. Our reflex for escape relaxed as the monster let a couple more of its disgusting arms surface above the water and dance around.

"It's cute even though it's so ugly," Twix said. We giggled and took our eyes off the yellow-eyed octopus-fish thing to continue our conversation.

Big mistake.

One moment I saw Josie right in front of me, the next, one of the monster's tentacles whipped up with lightning speed to knock the girl off her broom. My friend screamed as she was flung from her broom down into the depths of the water.

"JOSIE!" Quicker than I could, Twix and her agile reflexes swooped down, avoiding the slimy arms in order to catch Josie before she hit the water. A fifty foot fall was fatal!

Twix threw a spell out at Josie to slow her descent just long enough to catch her on the length of the broom. I shouted with victory as my friends safely swooped out of danger, but momentarily forgot about my own predicament. One of the monster's long arms wacked me in the back and sent me forward, but thankfully I grabbed the front tip of the broomstick and saved myself a perilous plunge.

For the moment, anyway.

I clung onto the stick for dear life, and swung back and forth to regain my seat, but also to avoid the trashing tentacle.

Twix's broomstick could support her and Josie's combined weight, so they had to retreat to the shoreline, which meant there was no one to call for backup as the repugnant creature wrapped its gross tentacle around my leg. When I looked down, the one yellow eye had since turned into an entire head with three eerie eyes and one large, dreadful-looking mouth. I was definitely screwed.

"Cali!"

I heard my name right as the creature yanked me down from the broomstick. I screamed as loud as I could as I was swung through the air like a rock in a sling. The world passed as a blur and I convinced myself I was as good as dead when I saw the creature's mouth coming close and closer… Or was I the one moving closer to it?

The wind was knocked out of me when someone intercepted my fall and cradled me tightly against their chest until we dove gracefully into the dark waters.

I took a moment to gather myself before I surfaced, then I felt relieved to see Blaine's face, which was all wet and matted with his dark hair. "Swim!' he commanded, and took my hand under the water before kicking with everything his vampire strength had. I didn't even look back this time, because I knew the monster was just one step behind us. Its large mass caused small waves in the lake as it flailed around, trying to grab its dinner and getting angry that Blaine moved faster than it did in the water.

As soon as it became shallow enough to touch, my protector picked me up and sped out of the water to the safety of tree cover, where Josie and Twix waited impatiently.

"Impeccable timing, vamp," Twix teased, but it was visible on her face that she'd been incredibly worried.

"Just doin' my job," he said smoothly. I shot him a look- and he offered a smile. "You know I would have rescued you regardless. You're too cute to be eaten by a smelly sea creature."

Yeah, right. I was soaking wet and probably had some seaweed stuck in my red hair after being in that lake.

Josie and Twix hugged me as soon as Blaine set me on the ground. I couldn't help but laugh at their drenched fronts after they released me. I hardly felt any shock or leftover fear from that entire situation… I knew I was safe because of the vampire behind me.

There was no way he could be involved with anything. Right?

Curse my doubt, again.

"Let's get back before anything else tries to eat you troublesome witches," Blaine said.

Twix shot some witty comeback at him while Josie twisted her arm around mine and walked ahead with me. "See? He just saved you. Doesn't look like he's trying anything to me," she whispered with hope.

I nodded, and looked back to catch a glimpse of Blaine running his fingers through his hair to comb out the soaking tangles. After he moved his hand from his eyes, they glanced at me and I saw an emotion that made my stomach doing a flip: **regret**.

The doubt infiltrated my mind again like a dagger through flesh.

After the four of us returned to the manner, with two less broomsticks then we left with and two soaking bodies, my mother happened to be in the foyer we entered through and noticed our peculiarity right away.

"Callista, a word."

My friends and Blaine all exchanged looks- from the strict, impatient sound of my mother's voice, everyone knew I was in some sort of trouble. I obeyed quietly and walked into another room with my mom. She shut the door behind us and let the strict-woman act fall.

"What in Hex Hollow happened? You have seaweed in your hair…" She carefully picked it out while I struggled with the words. I wanted to tell her everything. But we all agreed it wasn't time yet. I hated keeping all this information from my mom and the other mothers when they could be helping us.

"I- We- The three of us left to go talk somewhere private. We ended up over Lake Dread, and this thing in the water attacked us. Blaine was there to save me, thankfully."

"Good, but you should know better than to hover over that lake! Have I taught you nothing at all?"

I hung my head. "Yes, you have. I'm sorry."

"It's alright, my daughter. Your condition should be more than enough of a lesson to you." She wrapped her arms around me, but tried not to get wet. "Now, just what is it you all needed to talk about? Certainly my ear can be of service."

I swallowed my words back into my mouth. I couldn't tell her about Fiona and the demon… but maybe I could mention some other detail.

"Well, I've been confused about Jack. I spent an entire night with him in the Old Wood, where he hurt me, and yesterday he was acting as if I were the bad guy. It just really upset me, and he won't tell me why. Twix, Josie and I didn't want anyone to eavesdrop, so we took the conversation into the air."

My mother seemed too stiffen and quiet as soon as I mentioned Jack. Her eyes were glossy with memory, and I saw something similar in those eyes that I'd just identified in Blaine's. "Jack, acting weird? I see…" Her words seemed far-off, as if she were thinking about something else.

It was my turn to be concerned. "Mom, are you alright?"

"What? Yes, of course." She regained her animation after I tilted my head at her. I still wasn't all that convinced, but what right did I have to muscle a secret out of my mother when I held one too?

"Cali, if there's anything else you need to tell me, just let me know when you're ready."

"Funny, I was just about to say the same," I replied a little too coolly. I dodged from the room to go upstairs and change before she could say anything else.


	12. Chapter 12

"_Cali, if there's anything else you need to tell me, just let me know when you're ready."_

"_Funny, I was just about to say the same," I replied a little too coolly. I dodged from the room to go upstairs and change before she could say anything else._

After searching through one of my spell books to find a quick cleaning charm, finding myself some comfy pajama bottoms, and twisting my hair into a bun so that it was out of my face, I plopped down onto my bed beside Crispin and started practicing spells. It really sort of sucked that there were no schools for witches- everything was homeschooling- so, while I was still struggling with a simple levitation spell (mostly due to my own laziness) Twix and Josie were already learning how to shoot lightening from their palms. I sighed as I stared at the thick spell book lying open in front of me. Who was I kidding? I wouldn't have been able to focus even if I wanted to; I was still upset by everything that happened tonight. I angrily flipped through the pages in the book as my frustration took over- then suddenly, the book jumped and knocked my hand away from its pages as it turned to the middle of a chapter.

My eyes read over something very interesting. It was about something that happened a few hundred years back; Hex Hollow had suffered an attack similar to the one we were suffering from right now.

_Demons swarmed the town, and wiped Hex Hollow clean of almost any traces of witches. It was later found out, that the demons were controlled by a very rare form of necromancy, usually only able to be performed by an elder male witch, or a vampire ancient._

I glared furiously at the text in front of me, rereading it several times._ '…or a vampire ancient.'_ I didn't want to doubt Blaine, I really didn't- but if he really was the person behind this all, I couldn't let him get away with it.

Damn Fiona. Damn Jack. Damn Blaine.

Unable to sit idle any longer, I leaped off my bed and began to pace about my room, searching for another way to figure out the truth.

There was always the easy way: tarot cards. But they often tended to have double meaning and I wasn't in the mood to puzzle things out. I could burn dragon bones, but that was too technical, and way too easy to mess up. Then it hit me, and I felt like a giant idiot- my crystal ball!

Of course, it was cliché, and way too wicked witch of the west for my taste, but it was the closest I would get to figuring out the truth. I needed to know what Blaine had been doing on the night that Hex Hollow went up in flames, and why Jack was so sure that it was Blaine that had lit the match. Without a second thought towards the matter, I strode over to my armoire and pulled out a medium-sized ball of crystal. It was filled with gray smoke at the moment, signaling that it hadn't been used in quite a while, and I carefully placed it on my bed; focusing all my energy on the question I would ask the ball.

_What was Blaine doing on the night that the Manor, and most of Hex Hollow, burned?_

The smoke inside the ball started to shift, wafting about before turning a bright, clear, teal around the edges, an electric blue in the middle, and a deep neon green surrounding the black center: Blaine's eyes. And as the ball panned out on the scene I was looking upon, I realized with some satisfaction that I was right. He was standing in the center of the town, exuding as much power as a Greek God, and his eyes were literally glowing; casting a shadow upon his pale form. The ball panned out again, and I could see that Blaine was surrounded by red-eyed demons, all of them gnashing their razor sharp teeth and clawing at the buildings they were facing. Buildings full of witches.

Suddenly, Blaine's eyes glinted silver – a sure sign that he was using a godly amount of power that needed extreme energy and focus- and all of the demons froze and turned to him. They looked completely under his will.

I let out a soft gasp, and watched as Blaine's eyes glinted silver again, and hellish flames appeared everywhere, which blocked my vision of Blaine and the demons. The ball went black, before returning to its usual gray smoke. The scene was over- my question was answered. Feeling as if all of the air had been sucked from the room, I numbly walked the ball back to the armoire before collapsing face first onto my bed once again.

How could he do it? It was one thing to suspect him without any proof, but to see it happen before your eyes…

I didn't stir when my bedroom door opened. Only when I heard the soft click of my door being shut and locked, and the shuffling of feet across my carpet, did I look up. My mother stood above me, holding what smelt like lemon-pomegranate tea.

"I thought you could use something to relax, after the day you've had." My mother said softly, handing me the cup and sitting down next to me.

"You have no idea." I replied taking large gulps from the cup.

"Do you want to talk about it?" she asked.

"No."

"Are you still upset about what happened with Jack?" my mother pressed.

I frowned. "I don't know. Kind of, I guess. Not really." After pausing to inhale deeply, I took another sip of tea. "Maybe."

"Cali, I need to tell you something, I- I-" My mother sighed, taking a calming breath of her own. "I just don't know how." I gave my mom an odd look. She hardly ever stuttered, and right now she looked absolutely troubled.

"Mom, what is it? You know you can tell me anything," I said, feeling a bit guilty. Did this have to do with me?

My mother gave me a wistful smile and mussed my hair. "I feel as if this situation should be reversed." I didn't bother to try and question it out of her; she seemed like she needed time to sort her thoughts out about whatever it was she needed to confess. "What I mean is," she explained when seeing my curiosity, "that I wish I were the one in your position; baring the heavy burden you are by being a young witch while Hex Hollow is in a time of unrest. I understand that it's a dangerous and stressful time, and having a friend like Jack suddenly change attitude on you… Well, _that_ may be my fault." My mother seemed to rub my head even more affectionately now.

"What do you mean?" I asked, because a felt a still silence coming on. Whatever my mom wanted to say just wasn't forming easily for her.

"I'm not sure how to soften this but… I was involved with a man before I met your father." My mother closed her eyes and looked as if she'd jumped over a cliff. "This man, well, I made some poor choices and ended up pregnant. The child, a son I named Jack, ended up getting bitten by a werewolf when he was young right here in the Hollow because of his father and my own poor parenting…"

"Wait," I cut her off, my eyes wide. "Are you trying to tell me that Jack is my _half-brother_?"

I wanted my mom to open her mouth and laugh at the insane idea. I wanted her to pull me down from the notion with a smile. But she only frowned at me and lowered her eyes in shame.

"His father and I split up afterwards, and he took responsibility over little Jack, but we agreed to keep others in charge of raising him here in Hex Hollow, and keeping the identity of his parents unknown to him. He's never been outside this realm, and he also shouldn't know who his biological parents are. But from what you've told me about his behavior, he may know now."

"Wait." I put my hands on my temples and started rubbing. This was too much, too fast. I hardly believed her at all. "I don't understand. I get that he might hate me because he's angry at you," I missed my mother's cringe when I mentioned _hate_. "Why would Jack be a jerk to me and side with _Fiona_, of all the witches in the Hollow?"

My mother hesitated, knowing I wasn't going to like the answer. "See, Fiona's father, and Jack's father… are one in the same."

The room grew small as what my mother said clicked.

_Fiona was Jack's half-sister too._

And she probably revealed the truth to him to gather him on her side, against me and my family. I looked away from my mother and just tried to absorb everything I'd learned. "That must be why Fiona hates me so much…" I said mostly to myself, letting everything fall into place.

My mother's voice was careful. She was scared of what I'd think of her, I realized. "Hate is such a strong word. I knew the two of you had a rivalry of sorts…"

"Mom." She looked up at me with watery eyes. I reached over and took her hand into mine. "It's ok. It was something in your past. You're still my mom and I love you."

"Yes, but the past has ways of catching up to you, I'm afraid. I should have known this day would come. Regret is a horrible thing, Callista." She seemed at ease as I kept my hand in hers.

I glanced over at my armoire, wondering if I should tell my mom more about Fiona. I'd promised Josie and Twix I'd keep it hidden for now, but my mom had just gathered the courage to do what was right and tell me a grave secret in her heart. Now it was my turn. It was only fair.

"I have to tell you something as well, Mom. The reason I said Fiona 'hates' me is because it's true. She attacked me and tried to kill me, that night Blaine brought me home from being lost in the woods." I felt nauseous when thinking of Blaine. "She's made it very clear that she wanted me out of the picture. Said she was tired of being my scapegoat… Then Jack started acting really cruel, and now Blaine-"

"Hold that thought, Cali." My mom cut me off before I could tell her about my so-called protector. My chest felt tight when remembering what was in the Crystal Ball, but even after seeing that, I didn't want to believe it. How could Blaine really be involved? I felt like such a fool for questioning it still. Anyway, my mother rose from the bed and looked like she'd just had a revelation. "I'm sorry to leave so suddenly, but I need to talk to your father about something."

I blinked twice. "It's alright, I need time alone right now, anyway." _That_ was the furthest from the truth.

I watched my mother as she left my room, wishing I knew a spell that would bubble me up from the drama and hurt of the world.

Until I learned how to brew a close enough potion, I was shit out of luck.


	13. Chapter 13

**_A/N: Hey everyone, it's been awhile, but xxdarknessxfallssxx and I have decided to make it up to you guys with this long-ass chapter!_**

**_As always: Read, Enjoy, Review_**

**_- Swan's Catastrophe_**

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* * *

_

_My mother rose from the bed and looked like she'd just had a revelation. "I'm sorry to leave so suddenly, but I need to talk to your father about something."_

_I watched my mother as she left my room, wishing I knew a spell that would bubble me up from the drama and hurt of the world._

_Until I learned how to brew a close enough potion, I was shit out of luck._

_

* * *

_

**Adele (Cali's Mom)'s POV**

I closed the door to my daughter's room as gently as I could, even if I wanted nothing more than to fling it shut and run down the hall to my husband. My head felt light from my revelation- I couldn't believe that everything hadn't clicked before Cali said anything.

All of the events made sense… Jack's sudden change of heart, Fiona's distaste for my daughter… these things were not unconnected to the attack on Hex Hollow, and I knew I exactly how. A powerful, male witch was a likely suspect behind the demons trying to burn down the manor and attacking the town, and I knew one male witch who had the motive. The only person I could think of that would manipulate his own son and even daughter…

Well, Rowan Crowley of course.

I knew there had been a reason I'd left that man so long ago… There had always been a foul air about him and his magic was always tainted with impure thoughts, even in the early days. His darker nature was clearly reflected in Fiona's attitude at times. I should have realized that he was the culprit of the attack on Hex Hollow when he didn't show up with the rest of the male witches!

I outwardly groaned with my own frustration and concentrated on quickening my steps to the lower stories, where my and Charles's room waited. My weary hand reached for the banister of the recently repaired grand staircase.

Just one quick flight of stairs and a short corridor away to some privacy to expel my thoughts…

A shadowy figure suddenly appeared at the bottom of the staircase, and I would have been more startled if I didn't recognize who it was. Slowly, Jack's sullen face lifted so the light from the upper story caught his features. My body seized with nostalgia as my eyes studied his expression closely. He was easily the spitting image of his father in his younger days, yet with my nose and my eyes. However, while his eyes were the same color as mine, right now they were glazed over with chagrin.

"Hello, _mother_," he spat at me, nearly biting the last word.

My bones started shaking, but I didn't let my knees buckle under my weight. Clearly the boy was displeased with me, but what lies had he been fed, I wondered?

"Hello, Jack," I replied in the most even tone I could manage. The regret inside me made even looking at the boy difficult. If only I'd taken responsibility and raised him under some guidance. Bitten by a werewolf or not, he was still my child.

My son.

"Adele Adler, my father would like to have a word with you." His eyes lit up with his rage.

I carefully made words while also thinking of a good spell to contain him in case he became out of control. "Would he?"

"Yes, you see, I can't let you tell anyone something that might stop his plan from working. You lying, irresponsible Adlers deserve what's coming." The young man's anger flared and his strong form surged up the stairs at me.

Perhaps if his hurtful comment hadn't caught the better side of me, I would have reacted sooner. I attempted to cast a simple knock-back spell, but I underestimated the boy's heightened speed. He took hold of my casting arm and pulled it harshly behind my back. Before I could scream for help, the boy hit the knot on the back of the neck and I went down.

Thankfully, my son caught me before I hit the stairs and everything went black.

-/-/-/-

Cali's POV

The next morning, I woke up feeling like I hadn't slept for nearly nine hours straight. My movements were sloppy and my head felt groggy. When recalling tidbits of my life before I fell asleep, the possible betrayal of Blaine and the shattering confession from my mother seemed like far-off junctions of my dream and not a heavy reality in my already-dramatic life.

The next matter of business was to inform the besties of the new information. It was hard enough to accept everything I knew- how was I supposed to recite it to others?

Besides, did my mom even want me to tell her secret to anyone else? Even though I knew Josie and Twix could keep a secret.

I made a point to take my time dressing and freshening up before heading to the kitchen for breakfast. After I left my bedroom, I glanced down the empty hallway before taking my first slow step outside the pseudo-safety of my room. My legs felt heavy, head still full of fog, but I knew I would feel better once I saw my friend's familiar faces or my mother's loving expression.

Guess life didn't want to stop hating on me, because the first person I ran into was Fiona. She cut me off when I turned to walk down the grand staircase and nearly knocked me down the steps.

"Hey!" I shouted indignantly; fixing her with one of my most icy glares.

She simply turned and sneered at me, saying nothing except a "Hmpf!" before dashing off to wherever she originally was headed. Her freaky ferret followed closely behind her heels.

At least I didn't have to deal with her smart mouth this _lovely_ morning.

When I came into the kitchen, Josie and my Dad were working together to make a feast of pancakes. "Just something to cheer up this grim place," my Dad replied when I asked what the occasion was. He handed me a plateful and I made my way to the dining room table, where Twix and her mother were already eating.

"Mornin' Cali- you look like crap by the way" she commented, sharp eyes staring me down. I laughed nervously while simultaneously narrowing my eyes at her.

"I need to talk to you." I said, trying- and failing miserably- to keep the panic from my voice.

Without another word, Twix excused herself from her mother and tugged me back into the kitchen, where Josie had just taken off her apron and stood ready as if she knew this meeting was coming. It felt nice to have best friends who could sometimes read your mind.

"What's wrong?"

I glanced around to see how close my father was to earshot. I kept my voice a whisper, just in case. "Basically, Blaine is most likely really our enemy, and I now know the reason Jack and Fiona hate me so much." When I mentioned Blaine, Josie made a noise.

"Well, uhm, I sorta invited him to dinner when I saw him around before dawn." Josie was the early riser, so _of course_ she would be nice to Blaine before he retired for the light of day.

"Great," Twix and I said at once.

…

…

The dinner party wasn't just for the ruling families, all the families of Hex Hollow were invited, so the mansion was pretty packed. I was expecting my mother to come up to my room and force me to change into something more "dinner party appropriate" but since she had been missing in action all day, and my dad wouldn't care, I was going to a classy dinner dressed in skinny jeans, and plain white t-shirt, and some converse. If I was going to put myself in the uncomfortable situation of having to confront Blaine tonight, I might as well do it in the most comfortable clothes I own.

While I was brushing through my hair, and pondering my absurd logic, Twix strode into my room; clad in a dress so tight, it looked as if someone had painted it on, and then wrapped the paint in latex.

"Dinner's starting." She said, pausing, and offering a small look of sympathy. "And your vampire boy just arrived."

"Don't call him that." I grumbled, giving my hair one last brush through before following Twix out the door and towards the dining hall.

…

The dinner was about as boring as I expected it to be, we witches aren't exactly known for our…modesty, and when you get a bunch of us in a room together, it's a surprise all of our egos can fit. Twix and I quickly found Josephine, chatting with another witch about our age, and we were about to all split up and find Blaine, when my dad approached, looking worried.

"Cali, have you seen your mother?" he asked, his worry seeming to grow when he saw the look on my face.

"You mean _you_ haven't seen her?" I replied.

My father shook his head miserably. "She's been so busy lately, when she didn't come to our room last night, I just though it was because she needed some time with her thoughts…but I haven't seen her, and I'm starting to feel as if something's wrong."

Josie immediately began offering my father comforting words, but I was beyond comfort. A sick feeling was twisting my gut.

I met Fiona's gaze from across the room, and as if she'd heard every word we'd just exchanged, a knowing smirk curled up her lips.

Without thinking, I marched towards her, my vision going red. I was only a few feet from her, when a strong hand tugged at my arm, and pulled me back away from her.

"Cali, no."

I whirled around to see Blaine, trying to drag me away from Fiona, and the party altogether. I was shocked by his presence at first; no matter how many times I saw him, I never got used to how beautiful he was. After the initial shock wore off, it was replaced by panic.

This man, this _vampire_, had nearly destroyed Hex Hollow; he'd practically teamed up with my arch nemesis, and he'd probably even kidnapped my mother, and _now_ he was dragging me away from the dinner party- and most importantly- witnesses.

I took my free hand and began clawing at his hand that still encased my arm. Blaine looked down at me, shaking his head slowly.

"Seriously?" he asked. "If you wanted me to let go, all you had to do was ask. I just needed to get you away from _her_." He released my arm to point at Fiona, and I took the opportunity to smack him hard across the face.

"You lying, slimy, no-good _bastard_," I hissed. Blaine was staring at me, astonishment in his eyes, as he raised a hand to his cheek.

"That hurt," he said, his voice revealing his shock.

"It's an offensive spell- you use it to add extra force to an attack." I fumed.

"Well it works," Blaine muttered, either oblivious to my anger, or simply ignoring it. With a dramatic sigh, he turned his gorgeous teal-green eyes on me and raised his eyebrows.

"Now what's this about, and why are you glaring at me like you're imagining my head exploding or something?"

"Don't play stupid- I know what you did!" I nearly shrieked. "And to think that I was actually-"

I was interrupted by the sound of – well, to be honest, it kind of sounded like the end of the world. It was the sound of glass, and brick, and rock, and wood all imploding at the same time as screams echoed in the background. The lights remained on long enough for me to see a giant rock headed straight for my head, and then we were plunged into darkness, and Blaine's arm encircled my waist and with the speed only a vampire could posses, ran me to a safe enough distance away from the rock in time for me to hear it crash and tear through the wall a few feet behind where I had just stood.

I stood, shaking and breathing hard against Blaine as he held me to his chest.

"I suppose you think I'm responsible for that too." Blaine whispered against my hair. I frowned and pulled away from him.

"How would you know what I think you're responsible for?" I asked defiantly. Even in the darkness, I could see his pale face and his glowing eyes as he frowned at me.

"I am an old and powerful vampire- I thought we already went over how I could read minds," he replied brusquely. I saw the destruction of our manor as the uninjured witches murmured lighting spells, and my eyes widened when I saw that a giant hole had been ripped through our wall. As quickly as the damage was processed in my head, hordes of demons started plunging through. The terrified screams of witches rose in volume and pitch as they curled their ugly bodies around the crowd. Immediately, I surged forward – forgetting about Blaine completely- and going out in search of my friends.

The destruction looked even more irreparable than the last time.

And _right_ after we repaired the place, too! The nasty demons attacked the structures like the grand staircase we worked hard on rejuvenating. The manor, and our hope, was going to fall tonight. It felt totally pointless to try and salvage any of our homes in Hex Hollow as the demons relentlessly unleashed their fury. And what the hell had we ever done to them anyway?

I watched as one insect-looking demon skittered and punched straight through a window pane and flew ghoulishly through the hall. I ducked just in time to miss its stinger, but didn't manage to take it out.

However, the demon suddenly split into two and fell to the floor. Amazed at who came to my rescue so lightening-fast, my excitement died as I saw a certain vampire leaning against the wall.

"You look like you could use a hand," Blaine mentioned as effortlessly as he always did.

The humor did not reach my ears. One bit. I narrowed my eyes.

"Still here?" I asked snappishly. "I'd have thought that you would've disappeared as soon as they arrived; to keep blame from yourself."

Blaine's smoky eyes hardened into glass orbs as he took a threatening step towards me.

"Are you seriously accusing _me_? I didn't do this! No, instead I've been saving your troublesome ass every other second."

As if to prove his point, Blaine's eyes traveled behind me, and I turned just in time to see a demon, that was far too close for comfort, disintegrate into ash. Whirling back on Blaine, I grit my teeth and glared at him.

"Liar. The only person capable of this was _you_."

Something in Blaine seemed to falter, and his face fell as he stared at me. "Cali, you don't honestly believe-"

"I know that you've been lying- you're just a big liar, and I don't know what I believe anymore," I confessed. Blaine opened his mouth to say something, but I raged on. "I trusted you! My parents trusted you to protect me, and how do you repay them? You lie to everyone!"

Blaine shut his eyes and his face twisted together as if he was in pain. "You're right... You're so right. You of all people deserved the truth."

"You think? How could you betray me? You sent an attack to annihilate my friends and family, this one _and_ the last!"

Blaine's face turned into total shock. "What? That's what you think I lied about?" His voice was full of disbelief and... relief.

"I looked in my crystal ball. I saw you controlling the demons and setting them on the town. And, you were completely absent during the entire night, my so-called _protector_."

"Cali, I wasn't with you that night, but I did not betray you. I did my best to keep the demons from attacking and killing every last person in Hex Hollow that night. It took every ounce of my power to divert them the amount I did- but none of it would have mattered if you would have been killed. Don't you understand? I have only ever tried to help you and keep Hex Hollow safe. I wouldn't dream of destroying it."

My preconceived notions, my extravagant theory, shattered and I stared at him as his words began to sink in.

"You- you were _saving_ the town?" I asked, confusion still heavy in my tone.

"Yes!"

"You- weren't behind the attacks?"

"No god damnit, that's what I've been trying to explain."

I stared at Blaine, his face so sincere and devoid of any signs of guilt. Of course he would've been doing something "save the world" worthy.

I felt like such a fool. How did I ever doubt him?

"Well…" I murmured quietly. "This…is awkward."

Blaine smirked, appearing only inches away from me.

"Well, usually, I'd make some charming and witty comment about how I'm so great, _but _right now it's looking as if my demon-killing expertise is needed. So I'll see you later_._"

"I'm sorry." I murmured softly.

Blaine gave me a charming smirk. "Don't worry about it- as the only all-powerful vampire in Hex Hollow it would be weird if I wasn't persecuted unlawfully every now and then."

A shameful blush burned my cheeks and I looked away, only looking back up when Blaine's hand on my chin forced my face towards his.

"I'm serious," he said softly. "I'm not mad, okay?"

"Kay."

Once the drama was all done with, and Blaine cleared out the rest of the demons, more panic ensued as witches and children looked for their loved ones. I, too, was searching for the familiar faces of my parents and friends.

My heart soared when my father came and held me close after the attack. There was only one person missing to complete everything I needed. "Has there been any sign of mom?" I asked out of desperate impatience. The warning feeling in my gut was twisting again, and I could only hope that she'd show up alive and well.

When my father didn't answer right away, I looked up at him.

His eyes seemed fragile, watery and he shook his head slowly. "I- I think something's wrong. I'm only glad that she wasn't here and a part of all of this." My dad's eyes scanned the destruction on the manor.

"We'll find her," I promised, and then, on a less sure note, I added, "I'm sure she's fine."

Translation: _I'm sure we'll find her before whoever's behind this can make her not fine._

With a desperate look across the dining hall, I searched the sad and dirt covered faces for one that resembled my mother's. As I expected, I didn't find her, but my eyes did eventually land on Jack and Fiona murmuring in the far corner.

As if they felt my eyes on theirs, both of them raised their eyes to mine, and Fiona's lips curled up into that all too familiar knowing smirk, while Jack, just stared back at me with a very smug and somewhat evil expression.

It didn't take a genius to figure out that they were both behind this somehow. And I vowed to figure out just what was going on.


End file.
